Dreams do come true
by Luckycookie
Summary: Ria's biggest dream is to meet Roxas in real life. That dream comes true when the real world is being attacked by nobodies and she wakes up in Twilight town the next day. It soon turns out that Ria and Roxas have to save the worlds from the Organisation.
1. Dream becomes reality

**Me: This is my first Fanfic so don't be too hard on me. ****Hope you like the story**

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**Chapter one: Dream becomes reality**

In this story Ria's biggest dream comes true, She meets Roxas in real life. They visit different worlds and make friends with different characters, but darkness is fast approaching.

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Ria's pov

My name is Ria and I am fifteen years old. I have shoulder length, straight blond hair and dark blue eyes. I love to go on adventures and hate people telling me what to do, especially people who think they're always right. Sound familiar?

It was another of those boring nights were your parents are at business meetings far, far away and you're stuck alone in the house once again.

I looked at my watch, it was five past seven and I was upstairs in my room playing kingdom hearts 2. I watched the scene were Roxas wakes up and had another dream about Sora. It made me wondered what it would be like to know Roxas, to be one of his best friends. No doubt it would be the coolest thing every.

My room was pretty small. It reminded me of a square cardboard box, except the walls weren't painted in a dull brown colour. No, they were cream coloured. I had a bed, looking like a bunk-bed without the bottom bed, get it? Under the bed, stood something like a bench with a cushion on top and on top of that cushion was me. My TV was also under the bed.

Anyway, here I was, daydreaming about Roxas yet again. It was something that belonged to my daily routine.

But I snapped out of my daydream when my two dogs started barking loudly and alarmingly. Then someone slammed the front door of the I taught it was my parents after a meeting gone horribly wrong but then realised that it was only half seven now and my parents usually come home way after midnight.

My heart raced and a whole bundle of fear formed in my stomach. My second taught was "Burglars".

I jumped to my feet, grabbed my umbrella hastily and slowly went down stairs. I was terrified and every step I took made my fear grow. If the burglars had guns with them, I was done for. My umbrella was probably the stupidest weapon ever, but it was the only thing I had in my room.

Sweat began to flood down my face. It was cold and salty.

"Who ever is down there, I got a weapon and I'm not afraid to use it!" I was trying desperately to remain calm but I failed horribly. I was shaking with fear, my brain sent the wrong messages to the rest of my body and the bundle of fear in my stomach was making me sick.

From halfway down the stairs I stopped and watched. Movement was coming from the kitchen. The two dogs still barked wildly probably trying very hard to scare away the intruders who took no notice of them.

When I felt like I had enough courage, I jumped the rest of the stairs and charged through the open kitchen door. The intruders turned there heads to me. I stood there, wide-eyed and shocked. The intruders were. . .

"NO WAY! THESE YOKES ARE NOBODIES." I shouted, truly not believing my eyes.

They did nothing for a moment. They just stood in front of the kitchen doing their weird, on the spot dance motion. They were normal Dusks, the simplest form of a Nobody. They had a human body structure but their heads were massive, their mouths were sipped up with a sipper, their arms and legs were long and thin, their hands and feet were tied together by a black band and their skin looked like a white scuba-diver suit.

My umbrella slipped out of my hand creating a muffled 'band' sound. Before the Dusks could react, I was already outside on the small patch of grass in the front garden. But they didn't accept that. One by one they proceeded outside and followed me. When they moved quickly, they sort of swam through the air.

Cursing under my breath, I ran urgently down the road, leaving my estate. The Dusks were faster than I had estimated and soon I could here them gliding through the air very close to me. As it was night, and storm clouds had covered up the bright moon and twinkling stars, I could hardly see where I was going. All my feelings were numbed and my brain was just sending one urgent message to my legs.

_RUN!_

I obeyed the message and tried running even faster, so stupidly fast that I tripped. My body hit the cold road and a sharp stone had sliced its way through the skin of leg. I was still numb. The odour of the salty, rusty sweet blood drifted into my nose and the aura of darkness that the Nobodies brought with them surrounded me. The darkness was swallowing me, my heart. I lifted my head, looked around. All was dark. Road gone, sky gone, everything GONE.

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**Me: So, this is my first Chapter. Please review. Hope you liked it. I will update as soon as I can. The story gets more interesting with each chapter so don't judge it one the first one.**


	2. The beach

**Me****: Hi, this is my second chapter. Please review.**

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**Chapter two: The beach.**

Roxas' pov

"Four tickets to the beach, please. Roxas, the money!" Ordered Hayner, a boy with dirty blonde spiked up hair and mischievous brown eyes, waiting impatiently for his best friend (which is me) to pass him the money for the train tickets.

"What? Oh here." I said giving him the little, orange bag. My head was in the clouds once again and I paid attention to nothing.

We were in the Twilight Town train station wanting to go to the beach. It was a glorious, sunny day, much too sunny for us to waste our time sitting in the Usual Spot.

"Ok guys, everyone take a ticket and get on the train over there." Ordered Hayner presenting four tickets and he pointed at an orange train that was parked on one of the many platforms in the station. At the moment it was the only train there. A lonely train.

Each one of us, Pence, Olette and me took a ticket and we ran up to the train. Hayner took the lead and got on it, showing the conductor the tickets. Inside the train it was crowded, the air was sticky, warm and uncomfortable and the horrible stench of sweat hung around everywhere. We sat down in the last free seats. I tried hard to ignore the stench and started a conversation about the beach. I asked what we should do and waited for the others to suggest a few things.

"We could look for shells and make accessories out of them." Suggested Olette, a girl with long, chocolate brown hair and radiant green eyes, hoping the others would agree. She was the only girl in our group of friends and she was the smartest kid in school. The good thing about her was that she didn't act like the other girls. She didn't plaster layers of make-up on her face, she didn't mind getting dirt on her clothes and the best thing of all, she didn't wear very short skirts that revealed all of one's legs.

"Ok, I guess we could to that, but we should also fish for crabs and stuff." Hayner suggested. He had a slightly annoyed look on his face. He probably didn't want to make accessories but he also didn't want to upset Olette because he had a secret crush on her. Life is tough sometimes, my good friend

After that, we were all discussing things about the beach till Pence caught sight of the beach train station ten minutes later. I was on the edge of my seat, very eager to get out of the train and escape the stench in the air.

"Look, I can see the station from here. We're nearly there." Said Pence, his hazel brown eyes widening. He scratched his dark brown hair and took a picture of the sea with his old-fashioned camera. A new one was already on his Christmas list.

The train slowly came to a stop. The doors opened and I got off hastily pushing the other passengers out of the way. My brain was screaming for fresh air, oxygen.

Outside the salty ocean air welcomed us. I felt better already.

The beach sand looked almost white. The sun had heated it up. The ocean was blue, perfectly reflecting the cloud-less sky. Waves crashed into the water creating a loud rhythm. The day was perfect. There wasn't a large amount of people around so we could look for shells in peace without little kids running everywhere and screaming because of a death jelly-fish.

"Ok, let's split up. Each one of us will go some were different. I'll meet you guys at four, right here on this exact spot. That gives us one hour. Ready . . . GO!" Hayner yelled and he ran of barely giving us time to realise what he had just said.

One thing about Hayner: He never repeated himself.

"I'll go looking for shells." Pence announced and ran off towards the ocean. Olette and I gazed after him.

"I'll go looking for shells to." Olette ran after Pence asking him to wait up. I grinned and looked over to the rock pools. Shells always got stuck there when the tide went out.

"I guess that's where I'm going to look" I said to myself and raced over to the pools

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I spent almost all my time looking for good shells. If found none, only broken ones which were no use if you want to make something out of them. By the time I gave up, I was dripping with sweat and water. The cool breeze made me shiver every time I emerged from behind a rock.

I checked the time on my wrist-watch and sighed.

"Time to go back. Wouldn't want to make Lord Hayner wait." I chuckled wryly and gave the place on last look.

Then I realised that a human hand clutched one of the rocks. At first I thought it was a dead body. Just in case, I ran over to check what was going on.

I was half right, there was a person lying there but she wasn't dead. She was breathing heavily and stock-wise. She was soaked to the skin. She was also unconscious and had a wound on her arm. It was still bleeding, so I quickly pulled my scarf out of my pocket and bandaged her with arm it. Good thing the sight of blood didn't make me sick. After I bandaged her arm, I seized both arms and started dragging her across the sand as she was too heavy to carry. Behind us, a long curved track lead back to the rock-pools

When I was nearly at the station, Hayner and the rest were already waiting for me. Hayner wore the annoyed expression again. I don't think they saw the girl that I was dragging along.

"HAYNER, PENCE, OLETTE! I COULD USE SOME HELP!" I shouted at them. Once I showed them the girl, colour drained from there shocked faces.

"ROXAS, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!" Hayner shouted, looking very pale.

"Stop asking questions and help me." I snapped as Hayner who helped me carry the girl "I found her by the rock-pools." I said not feeling like explaining things. "Let's just go home and put her to bed."

Olette quickly bought five train tickets and gave them all to us.

The train was already waiting. It was a bit complicated to get the girl onto it but we managed. This time there wasn't half as many people on the train as the last time. There was no smell of sweat and the windows were open to make sure the air stayed cool inside.

I managed to position the girl on a seat and sat down beside her. Hayner, Pence and Olette stared at her, bewildered. Many people also stared at the girl. I avoided there piercing eyes and gazed out of the window. The beach soon disappeared.

"Well, we'll do the crab fishing the next time guys." Pence said still recovering from the shock.

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**Me****: Hope you liked my second chapter. I'm gonne write the next chapter as soon as I can.**


	3. Awakening

**Chapter three: Awakening**

Ria's pov

I woke up feeling dizzy and tired. My head aced. It felt like it was the worst head-ache I ever had in my whole life.

But the coldness of the road was gone. The feeling of darkness was gone. I was laying on something soft and covered with a warm quilt. I realised quickly that I was in a bed instead of on a road.

Staring at the ceiling, I tried to remember what happened.

'_Wait, where are all the nobodies gone to? . . . Oh, it must have bin only a dream._ _Thank god, but it felt so real_.' I thought to my self, relieved and a bit disappointed. I mean, who else ever got to see real Nobodies

At first I thought this was my room, but something was different. I wasn't laying in my bunk-bed, the walls were painted in a different colour, and my room wasn't as messy as this one.

"This isn't my bed! And this is_ certainly_ NOT my room!" I whispered and pushed myself up so I could look out of the window. To my surprise, the green country-side scenery was also gone. In its place were numerous buildings everywhere. It was twilight. The setting sun had drenched the town in amber coloured light.

One observation: It was a town that seemed oddly familiar.

"I don't live in this town. Time to investigate!" I whispered firmly.

I then examined the room. It was quite messy. Books laid around everywhere. The paper bin beside a small table was overflowing with, well, paper. The table was covered in school books. There was a red schoolbag sitting on the table, half empty and doodled all over. There where several shelves packed with books, DVD's and CD's and the only thing that looked neat and tidy was the fish tank which looked as it was cleaned five minutes ago.

The room also seemed very familiar. I could have sworn I saw it before.

"Ok. Let's recap! What happened earlier? I was playing Kingdom Hearts 2," While I was taking to myself again (it's a bad habit I have), I still observed the room "I watched the scene with Roxa-OM-!" My eyes hit the label on a maths book that laid beside the bed. It said _'Roxas M. Third year student, TT secondary school'_

I stared at the book for a good two minutes being both shocked and delighted, but like everyone else who'd be in my situation, I expected something to happen that woke me up from another dream. But, even after hitting my self with the same maths book. I didn't wake up from a dream and was still in the same room which belonged to a character out of a video game. It's very creepy, trust me.

Now, I knew why this town and room seemed familiar. I was in Twilight Town, in Roxas's room.

I gazed out of the window again, dazed. People of all kind were walking happily around the streets or had a conversation with each other.

I could see the sandlot; two people were fighting with each other with blue weapons. I was so busy with watching the two people fight that I jumped when a familiar boy's voice said "I knew that I heard something up here."

I froze, my heart started racing and my hand became sweaty. I slowly turned my head around, hoping that the voice didn't come from the exact person whose voice sounded like that. But it did. Standing in front of me with his sweet smile was Roxas.

That was too much. A person could only take so many surprises. My head ached again, everything started spinning and I fainted…

Roxas' pov

The girl collapsed. Her face had turned completely white. I stared at her, helpless and not knowing what to do. I never experienced someone fainting before.

'_Water, I need to get some water!'_

I sprinted down stairs to the kitchen, hastily picked up a cup and poured cold water into it. Then I ran back into my room, spilling a lot of water onto the floor.

Pushing her head up delicately, I tried to make her drink the remaining water. It was a complete mess, most of the water spilled on her clothes and nothing really went into her mouth. It annoyed me.

"She can drink it her self once she's awake!" I said angrily. I opened the window; a fresh gust of wind welcomed me, and poured the rest of the water out the window. It hit a person, but not just any person. It hit Seifer, one of the meanest people around.

He looked up, his black hat dripping with water, and pointed his finger at me. He was obviously, surprised and angry.

"Hey, chicken-wuss, you better apologise NOW or else-." He stopped talking as I wasn't even listening. I closed the window again and walked back to the kitchen to get another cup filled with water.

Ria's pov

I woke up to find Roxas' worried face gazing down on me. It took me a moment to realise where I was and that I was wet. Then I managed to choke a small 'hi'

"I'm so glad that you're ok. I was really worried for a minute. The names Roxas. I found you unconscious on the beach yesterday. You arm was bleeding so I bandaged it." He said, with a relieved tone in his voice. "Oh, nearly forgot, here, drink some water." He gave me a cup.

I took a small gulp of water and looked at him when he picked up his maths book from the ground and put it on the table. I took it all in. He was really standing there.

Roxas had blond, spiky hair and tanzanite blue eyes. He was about the same height as me. His personality was as sweet as his smile.

"Thanks for the water." I squeaked and felt annoyed with my self that it was the only thing coming out of my mouth.

"No prob. I can get you more if you want." He offered.

"No thanks. I still have enough. By the way, my name is Ria." I stated. My confidence was growing with my delight. I felt like the luckiest person in the world

"Nice name. Do you want something to eat? You look hungry. I could make pancakes or something like that. Afterwards, I could show you the town and introduce you to my friends. They kinda know you all ready. When they first saw you at the beach, unconscious, they thought you were dead. You should have seen their faces, it was hilarious." He started laughing, hard. I could still here his laugh when he left the room.

I followed him, into his kitchen. It was way bigger than his room. There was a table with four chairs; a fruit bowl full of bananas, apples and pears was on top of it and other kitchen equipment.

I sat down on a chair and observed what he was doing.

"You want pancakes or a sandwich?" He asked me holding the Pancake mix in his right hand and a packed sandwich in the other.

"Pancakes, please. They're my favourite." I said, realising how hungry I really was.

"No prob." He said again, turning the cooker on, getting out a pan and pouring the pancake mix into it.

"Want me to help?" I said feeling guilty that he was doing all the work. "I could set the table. Oh, yeah, I'm not accepting no for an answer." I said and chuckled.

"Ok, you can set the table for the two of us. The pancakes will be ready in a few minutes." He said and smiled once again. This felt like a contest. Who can smile the most?

'_His smile makes me weak.'_ I sighed and I started setting the table as ordered.

When I was done, he put the pancakes on our plates and sat down.

I eyed the pancakes on my plate hungrily and I couldn't help but to gobble them up right away. They tasted better than my mum's ever did. They were not soggy or burned.

"Those were delish. Were did you learn to make them so well? I mean they tasted even better than my mum's and she's a good cook."

"Cookbook. . . This one, look." He said handing me over the book.

I looked at the cookbook and waited till he was finished. To me, the book was boring. There was something completely different on my mind.

"Do want to go outside? I'll show you the town and other stuff. You could go into the shop and buy accessories." Roxas suggested, after he cleared the table.

"Yeah, why not? I love accessories. We could also go the candy shop, couldn't we? And to the sandlot?" I slapped my hand over my mouth, knowing I said too much.

"Whoa, how do you know that there's a sandlot in Twilight town? Can you read minds or something?" My face was pale. "Just kidding." He said and started laughing at my face. "Lucky guess, hm?" He asked again.

"No, seen it when I looked out of your window." I said trying to focus on not saying too much at once.

"Well, that explains it, doesn't it? Come on let's go. Hayner and the others are waiting." He said and we ran outside, my face turning to its natural colour again.

Wow! Here I was being friends with Roxas and getting to meet his friends as well. I could have jumped for joy. My biggest and weirdest dream came true.

'_Maybe I'm even going to see Organisation 13 later on . . '._

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**Me****: I'm finally finished chapter three. Hope you liked it. I'll update as soon as I can.**


	4. 1 friend 4 friends 5 friends

**Author: Hi there. This is chapter four of my story. Please read and review. Thanx. Luckycookie xxxx**

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Chapter four: 1 friend + 4 friends = 5 friends

Ria's pov

It was sunny day, me and Roxas made our way to the usual spot where he and his friends hang out. On the way he told me a lot about Twilight town and its people. He told me that his friend Hayner has a bit of an attitude problem and that he sometimes says bad stuff that he doesn't really mean. It's weird being told stuff and you know it already.

"You sure your friends won't mind me hangin' about?" I asked Roxas not sure if it was a good idea to meet them.

"Course I'm sure. Hayner asked me to bring you next time we all meet in the usual spot. Just be ready to answer a whole lot of questions." He said with a smirk on his face.

"If you say so." I replied.

We entered the usual spot which looked like a box. A yellow boiler stood beside the centre wall with a dirty-blond haired boy sitting on it. His brown eyes were set on his sea-salt ice cream. He wore a black t-shirt, brown shorts and white runners. He looked quite happy about something. I knew straight away that it was Hayner, the "leader" of the group.

On the right, beside Hayner stood a dark-green armchair with a dark-brown haired boy with blue eyes sitting on top of it. It was Pence. He was talking to Olette. He wore a red t-shirt, blue quarter-length trousers and black runners.

Olette was sitting on a dark-green couch on the right wall. She had brown hair and green eyes. She wore an orange top, cream-coloured quarter-length trousers and cream-coloured runners.

It looked like she was telling Pence a very funny joke as they both bust out laughing hard.

"Hi guys," immediately everybody looked at Roxas "Remember the girl I found at the beach? She's still alive. I brought her with me. Her names' Ria. She's feeling better now I think. She fainted for a short while. Don't really know why," I blushed. I knew perfectly well why I fainted. "but she's ok now." Roxas finished talking.

The minute he did everybody fixed their eyes upon me. There mouths on there faces turning into friendly smiles.

Hayner got up from his seat and walked towards me. It looked like he was going to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Hayner. I'm kind of the leader of this group. Feel free to drop by with Roxas anytime you want." He finished talking and sat down again still smiling friendly.

Next Pence got up from his seat. He introduced himself next.

"Hi, the names' Pence. Glad to know your ok. We were kinda worried about you when Roxas decided to take you home. He doesn't really know about first-aid or stuff like that."

"I heard that!"

"Well, it's true." Answered Pence and sat down in his seat.

"Is not!" Roxas snapped.

Pence stood up again and wanted to say something else but Hayner interrupted him.

"Would you two guys stop it!" Hayner said annoyed. They both stopped and Pence sat down again.

Roxas still remained beside me, his face kinda angry looking.

Finally Olette got up from her seat and made her way over to me. She acted like nothing happened.

"Hi, I'm Olette. Don't mind the boys. They fight a lot but at the end they always remain friends. It's a boy's thing. Don't try to understand it."

She sat back down again and offered me the seat beside her.

"You can sit here. Want some sea-salt ice cream? She asked me.

I sat down beside her and took the ice cream.

"Thanks" I said, taking a big chunk out of it. It tasted of sea-salt and a fruit I never tasted before.

'It was weird knowing someone but they don't know you at all.

Roxas sat down on a box with a cushion on top. Hayner looked like he was going to say something.

"Ria, what happened to you that you were unconscious? How did you get here, cause you don't live in this town." He asked me.

"It all started when Nobodies came into my house. You do know what Nobodies are, right?" I asked, not expecting them to know.

"NOBODIES!" They all answered at once.

Hayner got up from the boiler and walked into the centre of the room. He turned, facing us all.

"Course we know what they are! They tried to take over Twilight Town and other worlds. Well, really it was Organisation 13 that tried to take over, but they control the nobody flunkies. Roxas and the other two guys, Riku and Sora stopped them from doing so but the Organisation is still out there and it will only be a matter of time when they will try again. There is a rumour that a person from a different world is going to destroy them and restore the worlds like Sora once did. It could be anyone really. Riku and Sora are from a different world. Maybe Sora is going to do it again. Nobody knows."

Exhausted from his long speech, Hayner sat back down on the boiler and I continued my speech. I really didn't expect them to know about Sora, Riku and the organisation too. I started talking.

"The nobodies invaded my world. I tried to run from them. It was so dark, I couldn't see were I was going and I slipped. Then, I got this horrible feeling of being swallowed by darkness and fell unconscious. That's all I remember. Don't have a clue how I got here."

I finished talking and took a deep breath. I wanted to say more but Olette already started.

"Maybe someone rescued you. Maybe someone is watching over you all the time. It's like having a guardian angel. How cool is that?"

"Olette, I don't think I have a guardian angel. I mean what's the point rescuing someone and then leaving them out somewhere to die? Doesn't make any sense to me."

I said feeling pretty sure I'm right. Finally Roxas said something about the subject.

"What if someone evil tried to kidnap her but dropped her off at the wrong spot. It could be possible." He suggested.

"Do you think a person would be stupid enough to do such a thing, cause I don't." Hayner asked challengingly.

"Demyx would be. He's so stupid he can't tie his own shoe-lace. That's why he wears boots." Said Roxas and they all burst out laughing.

It looked like everybody was exactly like in the game. I knew Demyx could be an idiot some times, but in the game he wasn't stupid. It was damn hard to defeat him! Maybe they were just making him sound more stupid than he is.

"So guys, I thought we could annoy Seifer a bit today. I think it would be fun to see him get all angry. What do you guys think?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Olette, Pence and I all answered at the same time. Roxas didn't seem to be excited or happy about meeting Seifer. I, on the other hand, was actually looking forward to pissing Seifer off.

I also hoped he would challenge one of us to fight him.

"Roxas, you don't look so good. What's wrong?"

"Nothing Olette, it's just that I poured some water out of my bedroom window this morning and it hit Seifer right in his face."

"You really hit him, Roxas?" Hayner asked.

"Yeah, he was really angry."

We all started laughing when we imagined Seifer being soaked and his face turning red with anger.

"Well, let's go. Seifer awaits." Hayner said getting up, still laughing quietly and leaving the usual spot. We all followed him. It was great having friends like this. I hoped that it would last for ever.

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**Author: Hope you liked my 4th chapter. In the next chapter Hayner and the gang are going to the sandlot were Seifer hangs out. Keep reading the story and don't forget to review. Please and thank you. Hope your liking it so far.**


	5. Seifer, the jerk

**Author: Final written chapter five. Thanks to MISTALI, White Firez and Seeker-Of-the-Heart for reviewing lots. They have all writen great stories.**

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**Chapter five: Seifer, the jerk

Ria's pov

We made our way over to the sandlot as we decided to piss Seifer of earlier in the usual spot.

All the Struggle tournaments took place there. Roxas told me what happened at the tournament this year.

"The Struggle tournament for this year is already over. Hayner, Seifer, his friend Vivi and I got to the Semi-finals. Me and Vivi got to the Finals and I won. Then I had to battle Setzer who was the defending champion at the time. I fought against him and he lost. That means I'm the champion this year and have to try keeping my title next year."

He said smiling proudly. I looked at him and smiled.

"You must be really good. I would love to see you fighting one day." I blushed lightly at the end of the sentence but kept talking and turned my face away, trying to hide my red cheeks. "Maybe you could even teach me a bit. I know karate and Kong-Fuu but I never tried struggling. I heard of it but I never really wanted to try it cause, no one in my world does it and I didn't want to look like a weirdo."

I looked at him, forgetting my cheeks were still red. He smiled at me and noticed my red cheeks.

"Yeah, I could teach you a few things. By the way, you're blushing. Why's that I wonder? " He said with a smirk on his face.

"What?! Really?!" I said pretending not to know. '_Damn, he noticed'_ I thought.

"Don't know why. Its hot here, isn't it?" I said, smiling and feeling a bit like killing my self. For the rest of the walk I kept quite so I won't embarrass my self even more.

When we where at the sandlot, Seifer was talking to his gang, not seeing us. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing the same clothes like in the game. He is probably the same jerk like in the game I thought.

The sandlot was quite a large area. There was a large square platform covered in sand. Houses where around the edge of the area. Benches where there, waiting for people to sit on them.

Seifer wore his black hat, the blue t-shirt which ended just above his stomach meaning that it was exposed, blue trousers and the white, sleevless trench coat.

Vivi was the first one to notice us. He jumped and pointed at us.

Seifer turned around, first looking at Roxas with a disgusted look and then looking at me, suddenly changing from disgusted to surprised. He stared for a moment, it looked like he was thinking of something to say and then started talking.

"Well look what we have here guys. Hey Hayner, this your new girl friend? She must have a bad taste to pick you. I mean you look like a human gone wrong."

Before Hayner could say anything I already began to talk.

"Shut up!" I snapped. It annoyed me that he thought I was Hayners girlfriend. "I'm not his girlfriend and if I was, you'd just be jealous cause you never had one! Doesn't surprise me with that attitude! By the way, Hayner looks perfectly all right to me. I think you're the human gone wrong!" I said, feeling that I proved my point.

Seifer's expression suddenly changed to an angry glare.

"No one tells me to shut up, you little prat!" He said angrily.

"I say what I want, you stupid idiot!" I said, feeling like I could just kick him some where, he would feel a lot of pain.

"OK, that's it. Now you're getting what you deserve!" He said, getting his blue Struggle bat and pointing it at me.

His friends were watching excitingly. Only Vivi looked away.

"Hey! That's not fair. I don't have a weapon." I said, my blood nearly boiling over.

I stood a few metres away from Seifer. Rai, Fuu and Vivi were staring at us. Both Fuu and Rai were still excited. Vivi quickly turned away when I looked at him.

"Well, then you'll have to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness so I won't beat you up for giving me cheek." He said smirking.

"I don't get on my knees for anyone! I'll just fight you without a weapon then." I said, trying to sound more confident than I really was.

"Take this Ria!" Roxas shouted, throwing me another bat which looked exactly like Seifer's.

"Now you're going to get, Blondie!" Seifer said getting ready to fight.

"BLONDIE! NO ONE CALLS ME BLONDIE! I'll beat the crap out of you! "

I ran at him, giving him a hard hit in the stomach. He immediately swung his blue bat right at my head. "OUCH! Watch it!" I screamed angrily, giving him a hard blow to the head. He rubbed his head for a few seconds and then, tripped me up and started to laugh at me. I fell, my head hitting the hard ground.

"How stupid of you to think that you stand a chance of beating me." He said, looking at me. He was smirking again.

I was lying on the ground, rubbing my head, trying to think of what to do next. My head hurt so much I could only concentrate on the pain.

Seifer turned around to Fuu who was holding a camera, ready to take a picture. I took my chance, jumped up and gave Seifer a hard, final blow in the back. He turned around, wanting to hit me again but fell. He was lying motionless for a few moments till Fuu and Rai came over, picking him up from the ground. Seifer was breathing heavily and was holding his back. His blue bat was lying on the ground. It fell out of his hands.

"That was low, y'know!" Said Rai, cleaning the dirt of Seifer's white jacket.

Rai had black hair and brown eyes. He wore a red T-shirt, black track-suit bottoms and black runners. He had a black wristband on his right arm.

"He asked for it." I answered him back. It looked like Fuu was going to say something but didn't. She just gave me an angry glare.

She had white-blue-ish, short hair and hazel coloured eyes. She wore a blue top, cream quarter-length trousers and violet runners. She never said more than two words in a sentence.

Seifer recovered again. He stood fine on his own. I looked like he wanted to attack me again because he picked his bat up and pointed it at me. I thought about trying to talk him out of it so me and the others could find something else fun to do.

"Hey Seifer, I'm not going to fight you again. You lost fair and Square. If you attack me again, you'll be sorry, I tell you that." I said, hoping he would agree to stop but he showed no sign of wanting to stop.

I put my bat down and crossed my arms over, hoping he would know I'm serious. Roxas and the others did the same.

"I'm so scared." Said Seifer in a mocking voice. "What you gonne do? Bite me? Try to kick me?" He asked and started laughing.

He didn't take me serious at all. Rai and Fuu started laughing as well. Only Vivi looked terrified.

Vivi wore a yellow hat, a blue jacket, green trousers and brown runners. He really looked like a heartless in disguise. He stayed well away from me. He knew I was serious. I liked the little guy. I would never start a fight with him.

I felt so annoyed, I wanted to jump on Seifer and beat the livin' day light out of him. I got ready to run but a Roxas grabbed my shoulder and held me back. His touch made me jump but it felt warm and comfortable. I relaxed a bit. We all watched Seifer who waited for us to say something.

"Come on guys, this jerk won't stop till he wins. Let's head back to the usual spot." Hayner said, turning around and walking to the back alley. We all followed him. None of us knew we were being watched by someone. . .

Axel's pov

"Impressive girl." I said to my self as I watched the girl called Ria, and her new found friends walk of, leaving Seifer and his gang behind. I was sitting on the roof of one of the houses doing what Xemnas told me to do. I was to look for the girl in the prophecy, and Ria fits the description perfectly. It's weird to think that she is supposed to destroy us. She certainly is going to have a lot of trouble doing that.

I needed to tell Xemnas right away. Ria needed to be out of the way before anyone finds out about her and the prophecy. King Mickey looked for her as well and it would only be a matter of time till he finds her.

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**Author: I finally got my fifth chapter done. Please review. I like all people who do. Next chapter coming soon.**


	6. The prophecy

**Author: Hope you like this chapter. Enjoy. :** b

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Chapter six: The prophecy

Normal pov

A young man entered the castle Oblivion in the world that never was.

He wore a black cloak. He had red, spiky hair and green eyes. He could control fire.

It was Axel.

Axel made his way up to the room were thirteen white chairs are standing in it.

He went up the stair chase and entered the chair room; all the other organisation members were all ready seated. They were all waiting for him to tell them if he found the girl in the prophecy.

He sat down on his own chair and they all waited for Xemnas to enter. Xemnas' chair was in the centre and all the other chairs were forming a semi-circle around it. The room was completely white. There was no other colour.

Nobody talked. They all knew the return of Axel meant that he had found the girl.

Finally Xemnas entered the room and sat down in his chair. He had silver hair and orange eyes. He also wore a black cloak; in fact, every member wore one.

One chair beside Axel was empty. It was the thirteenth one were Roxas used to sit. Not wanting to think about Roxas, Axel started talking. The memories of Roxas were still hurting him. It was weird as nobodies normally don't have feelings.

"Xemnas, I found the girl. She doesn't look like she is going to destroy us but she fits the description. She hangs around with Roxas . . . no wait, she lives with Roxas. It's going to be hard to catch her on her own." He said

"It doesn't matter if she's alone or not. She has to be out of the way. Axel, you are going to kidnap her tomorrow. You will bring her here and I'll think of something that we can do with her. Maybe we could turn her into a heartless so we can get the nobody. Does anybody have any other bright ideas?" Xemnas said, waiting a moment for someone to answer. "No? I didn't think so. We'll go with my idea. We need someone to replace Roxas anyway The meeting is over. You're all dismissed." He said getting of his chair and leaving the room.

All the other members left the room except Axel and Demyx.

Demyx was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. He could be a bit stupid at times but mostly he was clever and sneaky. He controlled water with his blue Sitar.

"Hey Axel." He said

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonne need help tomorrow?" Demyx asked.

"Nah, I can handle a little teen like her. It'll be a piece of cake. Trust me." Axel replied. He liked doing things on his own since Roxas quit. Roxas was Axels best friend.

"Ok. I'm going to head back to Hollow Bastion and turn people in to heartless. See ye." Demyx said, disappearing into a black hole.

Axel didn't even hear the last bit as he already left the room. He went into his room and let himself drop on the bed. His room was also white, not one bit of colour was in it. The room contained a bed, table and two chairs. It was half empty like Axel himself. He thought about why nobodies didn't have a heart, the weird feeling of pain every time he thought about Roxas and how he was going to kidnap Ria. These thoughts wrecked his head and he fell asleep of exhaustion.

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Author: Sorry this chapter is short. The next one is going to be longer. Please review. Thanx**


	7. An embarrassing situation

**Author: This is chapter seven for you all. Read and review please.**

Chapter seven: An embarrassing situation

Ria's pov

I woke up in Roxas' room. It was a sunny morning and I felt like having fun. I wondered if Roxas was already awake. I got up and looked out of the window for a sec. The town was, as always, quite and peaceful. I rubbed my eyes and thought about what I was going to wear today. Stupid, really. I only had one outfit.

I put on my orange top, white skirt and white runners. I fed Roxas' fish which, to me looked like tiny sharks. They gulped their food down and then looked at me hungrily.

Feeling a bit disturbed, I went down stairs into the kitchen. Roxas was already there, sitting on the table and drinking orange juice. He was reading a newspaper called "The Twilight times". He had already put toast and orange juice on the table for me.

"Mornin Roxas." I said, sitting down beside him. He looked at me and smiled. It's weird that he keeps smiling when he sees me. It's even a bit scary. Feeling I was a bit to close to him I moved back a bit. You never know with boys.

I helped myself to a glass of orange juice and a slice of toast while waiting for him to say something.

"Morning Ria, does your head still hurt from yesterday?" He said, reaching for a slice of toast himself.

"It hurts a little but I'll be fine. It just hurts when you touch it. Anything interesting in the paper?" I said, moving closer to him again so I could see.

"Nah, just boring stuff no one would ever read. What do you want to do today? Hayner and the others are going somewhere and they wouldn't tell me where. That means you and me are stuck together for the day" He said, smiling his smile to die for.

I wondered how girls don't run after him or talk to him or do something else stupid so he would like them. I don't really care or do I? I don't know.

Suddenly an idea hit me like a bomb.

"We could go to the old mansion. I heard that it's haunted. Hayner told me." I said feeling excited, taking a sip from the orange juice and a bite into my toast.

"That sounds fun. Great idea, I like it." He said, putting the paper down and starting to clean the table. I quickly stuffed my toast into my mouth and gulped down the orange juice.

"Let's go. We can tidy up the kitchen when we come back." I said getting up, grabbing his hand and pulling him outside.

It was another boiling hot day. When we where finally outside I realised I was holding Roxas' hand. I quickly let go and blushed again. This time I had no time to turn away because he was looking at me already.

His surprised face turned into a smirk (again).

"Why are you blushing again? Wait . . . I know why." He said, looking at me like he read my mind.

"You like me." He said giving me a I-know-your-secret-you-can't-hide-it look.

"Yeah I do. It's called being friends. Just friends!" I said quickly but I knew I didn't sound convincing at all. He knew I liked him and I know he knows. Talk about an embarrassing situation.

"Is that so? Just friends? I don't think so. Not all boys are born yesterday, you know." He said smirking.

"I d-don't know w-what y-your t-talking about." I said tripping over words; I knew the battle was lost. I didn't look at him. It was good there was nobody on the street who could listen to our conversation.

"Yes you do." He said, still looking at me. He stopped smirking though.

'_That's it' _I thought. I wanted to run far, far away to erase myself from the situation. I didn't want to deal with it now.

Roxas' pov

'_Wow, she really does like me'_ I thought, looking at her red face. I always kind of knew she likes me but never believed that feeling. I could see she was really embarrassed. She wasn't looking at me any more. It looked like she was going to run away any second. _'Not on my watch'_ I thought getting ready to run after her. I don't like when people think it's going to get better by running away.

Ria's pov

I couldn't stand the silence any longer. I took a deep breath and ran.

I really didn't care where I was going; I just needed to get away from Roxas. I decided to run into the forest and hide under a tree.

A little hole in the Town wall led into the forest. I saw it and ran towards it. I could hear Roxas running after me. He was getting closer with every step. He was a surprisingly fast runner.

"Ria, WAIT!" He shouted. He had way more energy than me left. I knew he was going to catch up sooner or later.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted back. I made it into the forest and ran to the nearest tree.

That's when Roxas caught up. He was running beside me for a second and than in front me.

He turned around and stopped. I nearly crashed into him but stopped just in time as well. I got ready to turn around and leg it but he grabbed my arms. Once again his touch made me jump.

"LEMME GO! NOW!" I screamed at him, struggling to get myself free.

"Stop struggling! I'm not going to hurt you or anything! He said. His voice sounded so calm now. I loved his voice but I wasn't going to let him win.

I wouldn't stop. _'I'm not losing this time' _I thought, I looked at him for a split second while still trying to break free. I was way to close to him for my liking. I was eye level to him. He looked at me and I looked at him. It looked like he was trying to find a way to make me stop. I didn't know if I was going crazy but it felt like he was getting closer by the second.

I was so exhausted. I still kept struggling, determinant not to lose this fight. His grip was getting tighter. He was getting closer and then . . . he kissed me.

I stopped struggling, I had no energy left. My legs felt like jelly, I felt like collapsing but Roxas still held me. I felt like having a hearth attack. I couldn't believe what he was doing. I was in shock. It felt like for ever. I did what they always do in movies, I just closed my eyes.

After what felt like an hour and a half, he stopped. I opened my eyes and there he was, again, smiling his smile to die for. I couldn't believe what just happened. One side of me just wanted to melt into his arms but the other side wanted to get away. I felt very confused. He looked into my eyes, looking friendly as ever.

Once again it was too much for me, I couldn't take it any more. I started feeling really dizzy and again, fainted. Sometimes I could swear I wasn't made for this kind of stuff.

**Author: what you think about that. Bet you didn't expect it. Hope you like this chapter. If you thought it was crap, tell me. next one coming soon.**


	8. Meeting Axel

**Author: I'm back with chapter eight. ****Hope you like it. Thanx to all the reviewing people: MISTALI and White Firez. You're great!**

Chapter eight: Meeting Axel

Ria's pov

I woke up, feeling sweaty and nervous. I didn't open my eyes, they were too tied. My whole body was exhausted. I was sitting upright, leaning against something. Whatever the thing was, it was soft, warm and cosy. At first, I thought it was a giant cushion but changed my mind when I buried my head in it. There was something in it. It was pounding slowly, sounding like a heart.

I opened my eyes, looking at the strange thing. It had clothes on, which seemed very familiar.

Than I realised it really wasn't a cushion but Roxas. I could have screamed.

I jumped up. I was leaning against Roxas the whole time. He was fast asleep, lying against the tree. Then I knew why I was so nervous. The boy busted my space bubble. I was way to close to him for my liking again.

'_When he wakes up I'm going to kill him.' _I thought_._ I didn't like boys being too close to me, even if they were asleep like Roxas here. It made me feel very uneasy and sick.

I got up and went to the next tree a good distance away from Roxas. I sat down under the tree embracing the forest. It was quite and peaceful. The summer sun shone from the sky and a light breeze made sure it was never too hot.

I was still in shock. I couldn't make my mind up of what to do. Once again the two sides of my mind wanted to do two different things. Once side wanted to wait till Roxas wakes up and the other wanted to run away and hide somewhere else.

I looked up over to Roxas. He woke up, rubbing his eyes and looking around. He was looking for me.

I moved behind the tree, hoping he wouldn't see me and go home. I really hadn't the strength to run away again. I was so embarrassed. First he tells me he knows my secret, and then he runs after me when I wanted to be alone and_ then_ when he finally caught me he kisses me and thinks after that everything is going to be alright. That thought just made me furious. '_How dare he do that to me?!_ I thought. My blood started boiling.

I decided to run at him and fight. I didn't care how he fought back. He just needed to know that now I finally hate him. '_Do I really?' 'Yes . . . 'No . . . oh, __I don't know!'_

I took a deep breath, jumped out behind the tree and started threatening him.

"You better run Roxas cause I really feel like killing you! I HATE YOU!" I shouted at him.

He stared at me for awhile and then started looking serious. It kind of scared me a bit but I didn't show it.

"How are you going to kill me when I have two keyblades, you have nothing and why do you hate me?" He said, not feeling threatened at all but offended.

"I don't know. I'll find some way. You'll see! And _YOU_ know perfectly well why, I hate you!" I said. He was really scaring me now because he seemed very angry and I knew he could hurt me badly. ' _Maybe not.' ' Shut up you stupid mind!'_

"Why do you want to kill me anyway? I didn't exactly do anything wrong." He said, sounding serious and a bit hurt.

"What, kissing someone is not doing something wrong? Maybe for you it isn't but for me, IT IS!" I shouted.

"I had to do something to stop you running away again. Really, I don't know why I did it." He said. He was getting really really angry.

"I don't believe you. Also, you had plenty of other options. For example: You could have just knocked me out." I said but I knew Roxas would never do something like that. It was still an option he had.

"Yeah, but do you remember I said I wasn't going to hurt you?!" He said. I could see he felt hurt even more.

"I do, but maybe you hadn't noticed: GIRLS HAVE FEELINGS! Some girls are very sensitive and I'M ONE OF THEM!"

That was my final sentence. I moved behind the tree again, feeling I had to sit down. I didn't really know why I was making such a big fuss. I mean, I liked Roxas from the very start and now I shouted at him for not technically, doing anything wrong.

Roxas was still standing and staring. It seemed like he didn't know what to do. He was cursing under his breath. He was furious and hurt.

I thought about it for a second and then decided to apologise. After all, it really was my fault. I could have stopped struggling. Then none of this would have ever happened. '_I hate apologising' _I thought. It really annoys me when I have to do it.

I got up again and got out from behind the tree. Roxas was really angry now. His eyes were full of hatred. '_That's it, I messed up as usual!' _I thought.I looked at him and started crying. It was weird for me to cry. Normally I was the tough one.

"Sorry, Roxas." I said quietly, hoping he wouldn't hate me for ever. Tear drops were pouring out of my eyes. I just hated crying. It made everything harder. I looked at my feet. I felt ashamed. I felt like running again but didn't move. To make sure I didn't run again I sat down on the ground, looking down on it.

Roxas hesitated for a moment and then came over, sitting down beside me. I looked at him; he looked full of sympathy all of a sudden.

"You know what? Let's forget about it and find a way to cheer you up." He said smiling once again.

"Easy for you to say. I don't forget things so easily, Wise guy." I said smiling back. I was relieved we were friends once again.

"Well, it's not such a big deal cause you still like me." He said, smirking again. This whole smirking thing really got one my nerves.

"No I don't!" I said quickly again. '_Why was he starting that crap again?' _I thought, feeling a bit annoyed (again).

"Come on, tell me the truth. I think I already know it but tell me if I'm right." He said. '_No escaping the truth this time._ _Might as well tell him but way does he want to know? Can it not stay a secrete?' _I thought.

"OK, ok! I admit it! I had a crush on you since I first saw you standing behind me in your room! Now, you know the truth. Just don't rub it in when I do something stupid. Satisfied?!" I said feeling very annoyed now.

"Calm down. I wouldn't rub it in your face . . . well . . . maybe I would." He said.

There was a short silence between us. I thought about what to say next because I hate silence. It would drive me crazy after a few minutes.

"How long have we been here?" I said, looking around.

"For about twenty minutes, I'd say." Roxas said checking his watch.

"Then let's get moving. The mansion is waiting." I said, getting up. "Oh yeah, about what happened earlier, it's a secret. You can't tell any one, promise?" I asked.

"Promise!" He said, getting up as well.

We walked through the forest till we came to the mansion. It had huge gates. They weren't locked but they wouldn't move when we pushed them. Then I saw a rope tied around it. I tried to get the knot out but it wouldn't let me. _'Stupid yoke!' _I thought, still pulling on it.

"I can't get the knot out of it. We couldn't climb over the gate. Too dangerous!" I said, leaving the rope alone. _'Pity I don't have my pocket knife'_

"Oh great, I was really looking forward to going in there and looking for ghosts! Let's go home." Roxas said, looking disappointed.

Roxas went ahead. I stood there for a while, staring at the gate. I really hated that rope around it. It was the only thing from stopping us going into the mansion.

I turned around and wanted to leave when a familiar voice started talking behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?!" It said.

I turned around and jumped. It was a red haired, green eyed dude named Axel. He was a bit taller than me. My heart felt two different feelings. One was the sudden joy of meeting one of my favourite Organisation members but the other was fear. He controlled fire, I hated fire every since my budgie flew into it, got burned and had to be put down.

"I'm going away from_ you_." I said, turning around once again and walking away fast.

"Oh I don't think so!" He said.

I could hear him disappearing into his black hole, and he appeared again in front of me. He smiled a very evil smile. I felt like running away but he was standing in front of my only escape route.

"You're coming with me, conscience or not!" He said.

'_Help, this crazy guy wants to kidnap me!' _I thought.

"I'm not coming! It Xemnas told you to bring me you can tell him to get lost cause I'm not coming no matter what!" I shouted.

Axel looked surprised. He was probably wondering how I knew Xemnas, or the others for that matter.

"How do_ you_ know Xemnas!? Well, it doesn't matter. Another reason why you have to come: you know too much!" He said, approaching me and grabbing my wrist.

A black hole appeared again and Axel was pulling me towards it. He was surprisingly strong. I started to struggle once again. I felt helpless. I tried to reach for a branch of the nearest tree. Immediately sparks of white, silver, purple and gold appeared out of nowhere and a huge key appeared in my hand.

It was a keyblade. It looked like the black oblivion one Roxas had, only it was white with streaks of purple, silver and gold.

Axel didn't notice it. He was still pulling me along (dragging really). I took me a minute to focus and then I swung the keyblade into his stomach. He immediately let my arm go and clutched his stomach. Then I got behind him and pushed him into his own hole.

He fell into it and disappeared.

"That was easy!" I said to myself. The keyblade disappeared again and I started walking home (Roxas' house). I wondered if Roxas even noticed I was gone. _'I hope he knows why Axel wanted to kidnap me'_ I thought and left the mansion gates.

**Author: Hi, Hope you liked this chapter****. It took me a while to write. Next one coming soon!**


	9. A surprise visitor

**Author: Hi, this is chapter nine**** of my story. Read and review please. Thanx.**

Chapter nine: A surprise visitor

Ria's pov

I came to Roxas' house and he was waiting there for me. He didn't really look happy. He was probably annoyed that I didn't keep up with him.

"Ria! Where the heck where you?!" He said. He didn't seem angry only a bit confused.

"I had a 'lovely' conversation with a guy named Axel." I said not wanting to think about it.

"AXEL!?" Roxas jumped. "What did _he_ want?!" He asked me, looking surprised.

"Well he wanted to pull me into a non-existing world and bring me to his non-existing Organisation members. That enough information?" I said, annoyed with Axel for being on the dark side.

"Yeah. . . wait. . .how do _you_ know that he belongs to an Organisation _and_ that they are non-existing?

"Er . . . well . . ." I hesitated for a moment. _'I'll have to lie' _I thought.

"He told me." I said quickly, not looking at him. I was never a very good liar.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. Come on, let's go inside and get something to eat. I'm starving!" Roxas said becoming his old cheerful self again.

We went inside and made sandwiches. We ate and nobody talked. We were both lost in thoughts. The door bell rang and it snapped me out of them. Roxas went to the front door and looked who it was. I hoped it wasn't Axel again but he would never appear in Twilight town with people watching.

"Ria, there's a mouse here who wants to talk to you." He called into the kitchen.

"Roxas are you ok? Did something get into you sandwich? Mice can't talk! They're animals!" I said, feeling a bit worried about him.

"Just come out here and you'll see!" He said.

I got up, left my sandwich on the table and walked to the front door. I really didn't know what to expect. _'What kind of mouse talks?' _I thought.

I looked out the front door but couldn't see anyone. I was about to tell Roxas that needs to go to therapy but someone shorter than me pulled on my arm. I looked down and jumped.

King Mickey was standing in front of me and looked worried. I didn't look worried. I just couldn't believe that a mouse was standing in front of me, fully dressed and much larger then a normal one. I saw him in the game but it was still weird seeing him in real life.

"I came here to tell you some news. Whether it's good or bad is up to you." He said, entering the house and sitting down on a chair in the kitchen. Roxas and me followed him.

I didn't know how to react. He acted like he knew me already. He didn't introduce himself or anything. I thought that was really weird.

"Some of my sources told me you used a Keyblade to defend yours self against the Organisation's number 8, Axel." He said. I thought he was accusing me of mishandling a Keyblade or something and I didn't like being accused.

"Yeah I did. He wanted to pull me into darkness so I had to do something so he would let me go. He's really strong you know!" I said annoyed.

I mean what else should I have done. Anyway, I didn't know I had a Keyblade till I used it.

Then, as if he read my mind he said:

"I'm not accusing you of mishandling the Keyblade. No, against Axel using the Keyblade is really the only thing you could do to save yourself." He said sounding like he was proud of something. That scared me a bit.

"Good, I really thought your accusing me. Wait a sec! How do your sources know that I used a Keyblade??? ARE THEY SPYINGON ME?!" I shouted in horror.

"Yes." He said, sounding really calm.

"You mean that your sources know every single thing I did since I got here?" I said, feeling sick.

"Yes" He said calmly again.

"Really EVERYTHING?!" I said, feeling I could just kill myself.

"Yes, everything you did outside this house." He said.

I was shocked and then gave Roxas a We-are-so-dead look. I was still standing in the kitchen and felt terrible. The king was sending people to spy on me_. 'That's not fair' _I thought.

"Well let's not worry about that now. I have to tell you about the prophecy." The king said, helping himself to a sandwich.

"Is that the thing that says there is a girl out there in one of the worlds that is supposed to destroy the Organisation thingy?" I asked him curiously as I didn't know much about it.

Roxas seemed very quite ever since me and the King said the name Axel. He was still uncomfortable talking about the Organisation as he was once part of it.

I really wondered what the prophecy had to do with me. I looked at the king.

"The girl in the prophecy is right here in this room." He said looking at me. I thought he was going nuts. There was only one girl in here and that was me. I couldn't see the girl he meant.

"Where? I can't see her." I said, looking around.

"That's because you_ are _the girl." He said.

"WHAT!? No, not me, I can tell you that. There are a million girls out there much braver than me. I can't do it! I'm terrified of the Organisation." I said, still horror-struck.

"Yes, you can do it! Believe in your self! Anyway, Roxas is going to help you." King Mickey said smiling happily.

"WHAT?! ME!?" Roxas said, looking horrified as well. He took a big gulp of water from his bottle.

"Yes you Roxas. You know a lot about the Organisation and that could help you two." The king said, reassuringly.

"You have to travel to different worlds and eliminate the Organisation members causing trouble. When you fight them and you win you don't destroy the actual person only the darkness inside them. That's what happened to Roxas. As you can see he is not a person from the darkness anymore." The king said and gave me a key for something.

"This key is for the Gummi ship. You will need it to travel. I think its best when you begin your mission right now." He said, standing up and leaving the house. The door closed and it was only me and Roxas once again. No one spoke.

We started packing supplies and Roxas wrote a note to Hayner and the others.

We both knew this was where it all begins.

**Author: This chapter took a while to write but it's done now. Please review. Hope you liked this chapter. Next one coming soon :-D**


	10. First stop: Hollow Bastion

**Author: Hi, I'm back with chapter ten. ****Thanks for all the reviews, people. Love 'em all.**

Chapter ten: First stop: Hollow Bastion.

Ria's pov

Still annoyed with the King for spying on us, Roxas and I put all of our supplies into the Gummi ship. The ship was right in Roxas' back yard. It was completely red. To me it looked like a tiny plane. There was just enough space for us and supplies.

Once inside, I found a tiny, folded piece of paper with my name on it.

I opened it and inside was a little note for me. It said:

_**Ria,**_

_**It is very easy to fly this ship.**_

_**Roxas will know how even if he**_

_**never did it before. **_

_**I want to tell you that**_

_**I didn't spy on you the whole time.**_

_**Only when you where on your own**_

_**because one of the Organisation**_

_**members was bound to show up**_

_**when Roxas wasn't there with you.**_

_**Have a safe trip,**_

_**King Mickey**_

I read the note twice just to make sure I didn't miss it wrong. It felt like something very heavy was lifted of me. I felt relieved. I put the piece of paper in my pocket, got into the passanger seat and waited for Roxas.

Finally Roxas came out of his house with another bag. He stepped into the Gummi ship, dumped the bag in the back and sat down in the pilot's seat. He looked nervous

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" He asked me.

"No, but read this note. It's from the King. He thinks you could fly this ship even if you never did before." I said, getting the piece of paper out of my pocket again and handing it to him.

Like me, he read it twice and felt very relieved after. He gave me back the paper and looked very happy about something. I didn't ask. It was probably something I didn't want to know anyway.

"You know what? I think I _can_ fly this thing." He said, sounding very confident in himself.

Once again that scared me a little bit. I didn't really fancy dying in a crash because he was too confident with flying the ship. I really hoped the King was right and Roxas really knew how to fly the ship.

I sat down on the other seat. Roxas started the engine and acted like he was a professional.

I wonder if he was showing of. I really hated it when boys did that.

I was so tired after all that happened in one day. I decided to get some sleep. . .

**Half an hour later. . .**

"Ria, wake up! We're in Hollow Bastion!" Roxas said, shaking my shoulder.

"Ok, Ok! Just stop shaking me half to dead!" I said, feeling annoyed that he woke me up.'_I hate when people do that'_ I thought.

We got out of the ship and Roxas locked it. As soon as he did it disappeared. I jumped

"Oh great! How are we gonne find that yoke next time we want to travel somewhere else?!" I said not asking anyone really.

We were in the Market district. It had lots of shops. The shop that caught my attention was the sweet one. I loved sweets. Like if someone was calling me, I walked straight into it. Roxas just stayed there. There were lots of sugary things everywhere. Piles of them. What really got to me was the chocolate.

Sweet, brown, oily chocolate! I couldn't resist, I had to buy a few bars.

I went to the counter, put the chocolate on it and got some money out of my bag.

The lady behind the counter looked at me strangely with her green eyes. She had long black hair, tied together in a ponytail.

"Hey, you're that girl King Mickey told everyone about. You know, from the prophecy.

You're Ria." She said, smiling sweetly.

I was shocked. '_Why had the King been telling people about me? Most importantly, what did he say about me?' _I thought. I decided to ask the girl.

"What did the king say about me?" I said suspiciously. I really didn't want the whole town knowing about me.

"He only said you were the girl who is going to help us and that if we see you, we should tell you as much as we can about Organisation 13. I personally don't know anything about them, only that there is one member here, in Hollow Bastion causing trouble and turning people into heartless." She said, taking the bars and checking the price of them.

"That would be 3oo munny" The girl said. ( **I'm going to use the currency the use in the game)**

"Here." I gave her the money and took my bars. "Keep the change."

"Thank you!" she said, smiling again.

I left the shop and saw Roxas still waiting on the same spot. He looked bored. I walked over to him and gave him a bar of chocolate.

"Thanks!" He said, putting the bar into his bag.

"You're welcome. Listen, the King told all the people in this town about the prophecy and me. Everybody knows me. Even the girl in the shop knows me." I said.

"Did he mention me?" Roxas asked me.

"I don't think so. The girl in the shop didn't say anything about you but I think the other people know you anyway because you were with the Organisation once." I said to him. "Don't worry, if anyone says something stupid about you I'll answer back. You're not evil anymore." I added quickly when I saw his anxious face and smiled sweetly at him to give him some confidence.

We started walking around asking different people about the Organisation. Nobody knew anything so far. So I decided to go look for the people I knew from the game.

"Let's look for the old wizard that lives here." I said looking at Roxas who nodded. I was glad he didn't ask me how I knew about the wizard. I really wanted to avoid anymore questions about me knowing stuff that I shouldn't.

We left the Market district and went to Merlin's house which was in the Borough. I knocked at the door. I hoped Merlin didn't criticise Roxas for being evil once like some little kids did earlier on.

The door opened and a tall, old man stepped out. He had white hair and a very long beard. He wore glasses and had blue eyes. He was wearing a pointy, blue hat and a long, blue rope. I knew at once, that he knew me, by the look of him. He smiled and said

"Ria! Come in, come in! You brought Roxas as well. Marvellous." He said stepping inside the house again and waving his wand, letting two chairs appear.

Roxas and I entered the house and sat down on the two chairs Merlin made appear out of no where. Roxas looked a bit sad and I smiled again, trying to cheer him up.

The room was quite messy with spell books lying around everywhere. Everything looked old-fashioned except the high-tech computer Cid uses. There were a bed and a blackboard and a little table standing beside the left wall. On the little table was the 'Winnie the Pooh' book.

In the centre of the room was a big table with a teapot and cups on it. Roxas and I sat around it.

"Tea?" Merlin asked us holding the teapot.

Both of us nodded. Merlin poured tea in two of the cup and then sending them flying over to us with a tip of his wand.

"I believe you have come to ask me about the Organisation member causing trouble in this world." He said to us both. It didn't surprise me that Merlin was talking to us both. King Mickey probably motioned that Roxas was helping me to Merlin.

Anyway, we nodded once again.

"Well then I'm sorry to tell you I only know which number it is. I don't know where he is or what he is doing right now." He said looking disappointed in himself.

"Well that doesn't matter. What number is he?" Roxas asked him. He sounded cheerful and happy. It was probably because Merlin didn't ignore him.

"Number ten." Merlin answered.

I gave Roxas a hopeful look hoping he would know who number ten is. I also hoped it was someone exciting.

He gulped down his tea and whispered over to me.

"Let's see . . . number ten . . . That's Luxord. He fights with a deck of cards. He also has control over time. But trust me; he's weak against the Keyblade. We'll destroy him easily . . . well, the darkness in him." He said reassuringly. I did trust him but felt a bit scared and disappointed.

Luxord was still somebody dangerous even if I had the Keyblade. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life transformed into a giant card. I mean, who would?

I gulped down my tea and I told Roxas to get ready to leave.

"Well, Roxas and I better get going. We have to find that evil person." I said and got up.

"Leaving so soon? You have to come over again when you're finished sorting out the problem." He said, shaking our hands.

We left the house and made our way to the Bailey. It was time to find the 'Gambler of Faith'.

**Author: Hope you liked this chapter. I hate Luxord. That is way I put him first on the list. If anyone reads this chapter and likes him, don't get mad with me. **


	11. The 'Gambler of faith'

**Author: UPDATED! YEY! :-****D**** . . . Sorry, I had too much sweeties. Well, read and review please.**

Chapter eleven: The 'Gambler of faith'.

Ria's pov

We still didn't find Luxord. Even after three hours non-stop searching. This was really testing my patience. Another hour and I would explode. I was sure of it.

"Come on Roxas we looked everywhere. Let's go find Merlin and ask him if we can stay for the night. If we find that card obsessed guy tomorrow I will make him pay for making me search three whole hours and a bit!" I said and started to get moody.

"Ok. Whatever you say." Said Roxas who stopped looking around at once.

We were just about to go back to Merlin's house when man's voice called over to us.

"You ready to play the game?" The voice said. It sounded amused about something.

"Well look what we have here. Roxas! Wow, never thought you'd have the guts to face one of us again. Especially after what you did." The voice said again.

We both turned around. Luxord was standing there, smiling evilly. Roxas hated him so bad that I though, he was going to straggle Luxord if he said anymore.

"What? Too scared to talk?" Luxord said challengingly.

Roxas was on the verge of Explosion. I held Roxas back from running at him.

"Roxas! Don't you see that's all he wants? He wants you to run at him so he can turn you into a card or dice." I whispered.

"I'm waiting" Luxord said in an English accent.

"You know what Luxord? SHUT UP! Any last wishes before you have to say 'Bye bye' to the darkness inside you?! I shouted at him. He was really getting on my nerves.

"What do you mean? Are you telling me you actually want to fight me? Said Luxord and he started laughing.

"Yes, pretty much." I answered back.

I made my Keyblade appear in my hands and told Roxas to get ready. Luxord laughed and got his deck of giant cards.

"Do you know the rules?" He asked us.

"I have a news flash for you . . . THERE ARE NO RULES! I said pointing the Keyblade at him.

With that Roxas and I charged at Luxord. He just laughed and disappeared in one of the cards.

Roxas began hitting cards from the right and I began hitting them from the left till we came to the one Luxord was hiding in. Roxas and I hit the card with as much power as possible. The card disappeared and the gambler fell out of it, clutching his back. We didn't give him a chance to stand up; again the Keyblade gave him another blow to the back. It hit him so hard he laid on the ground motion less for a few moments, and then he moved a little bit and moaned loudly. I let Roxas do the rest. I knew that if we destroyed Luxord it would only be the darkness inside him but I still didn't like the idea of destroying someone.

Roxas gave Luxord the final hit and Luxord looked surprised.

Then he started to desolve and fade into darkness. The fight was won and I wondered why it was so easy. It felt a bit too easy.

'_Maybe Luxord was weakened by something before us'_I thought. I felt horrible because it felt like we killed him. My Keyblade disappeared as I watched the last of Luxord fade away. He looked sad.

"We did it!" Roxas said smiling broadly and punching the air with his fist.

"Yeah, but it feels horrible." I said sadly.

Roxas saw my face. He didn't understand why I was sad about Luxord.

"Cheer up already! Roxas said giving me a friendly push. "Let's go over to Merlin for a cup of tea or something. We told him we would come again before we left." He said sounding friendly as ever.

"Your right. It would probably cheer me up anyway." I said smiling sadly. I hated feeling sad for Luxord but couldn't stop myself from doing so.

We walked over to Merlin's house. It was already dark and the stars and moon shone brightly from the night sky. The air was cool and refreshing.

'_I could really do with something warm right now'_I thought as we came to the house. Roxas knocked at the house door once more.

"Roxas, do you think Luxord is going to remember the darkness? Do you think he'll have a heart?" I asked Roxas who looked stuck in his thoughts.

"What? Oh . . . em . . . yeah, he will remember the evil part of his life but he won't return to it. He'll hate it as much as I do. He'll have a heart as well. I got my heart back, didn't I?" He said.

"Yeah bu-." I broke of as the front door opened and Merlin came out.

"Back already?! You sorted out the problem then?" Merlin asked.

We both nodded. Merlin's presences somehow made me feel much better. All I wanted now was a hot cup of tea.

"Marvellous, marvellous!" Merlin said in excitement. He stepped out of the way so we could go inside. I headed straight for the comfy chair I sat on earlier. Roxas did the same. Then I noticed that four other people where in the room. I recognised each of them but didn't say anything.

"Tea?" Merlin asked ripping me out of my exhausted mind.

"Yeah please." I answered.

"Me too!" Roxas said. He looked much happier than he did a few hours ago.

Merlin made two cups appear and tipped the teapot with his wand. The teapot flew into the air and poured tea into the cups. Once full, they flew over to us. I immediately picked it up and gulped it down. It felt so good to have something warm in your stomach. I remembered the chocolate I bought and took a bar out of my bag. I unwrapped it, and began eating it slowly.

"You must be wondering who these four are." Merlin said pointing at the three happy faces smiling at us and the fourth not showing any emotion.

"Well, that over there is Leon." Merlin said pointing his wand at the brown haired man who didn't express any emotion. His blue eyes where fixed on me and Roxas. He wore a white t-shirt, a navy jacket, black trousers and black shoes. He didn't exactly look like what you would call friendly. Leon didn't say anything either.

"And beside him is Aerith." Merlin pointed at a brown haired girl who smiled sweetly at us. Her green eyes looked full of kindness and love. She had a red ribbon in her hair. She wore a pink, red and white dress and brown boots.

"Hello, nice to meet you." She said coming over and shaking our hands.

"And that is Yu-." He was interrupted by the black haired girl.

"I'm Yuffie, best ninja around." Yuffie said coming over to shake hands as well.

She had brown eyes. Her black hair was short. She wore a black top, black shorts and greenish coloured boot which went up to her knees. She looked like she was great fun to be with.

"Then, last but not least is Cid." Merlin pointed at the man who was doing something on the high-tech computer.

Cid had blonde hair and blue eyes. He had goggles around his head. He wore a white t-shirt, blue trousers and black shoes. He briefly turned around again, smiled and then returned to his business.

"They all help keep the town in line. So, do want to stay here tonight or are you two going away again? Merlin asked us stirring his own tea.

"I think we should leave now. We still have twelve other members to get rid of." Roxas said, drinking the last of his tea.

"Yeah, me too." I said finally finishing my chocolate bar.

"Very well then. You better get going before Roxas is too tired of flying." Merlin said getting up and waited till he could open the door.

Roxas got up and grabbed his bag. I did the same. We said our good-byes and left the house.

Now there was the problem of finding the Gummi ship. Roxas got out the keys and examined them.

"Maybe you should try to push that button." I said pointing at the little red button.

"Lets see what it does." Said Roxas and he pushed the bottom.

Then, the Gummi ship appeared out of nowhere right in front of us.

I opened the door and went inside. Everything looked the same. I sat down in my seat. Roxas did the same and closed the side door.

"Where do you want to go next?" Roxas asked looking at a map the King left us.

"Maybe we should try the 'land of Dragons'." I suggested.

"Ok." Roxas said starting the engine.

I looked out of the window wondering which crazy member was next. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

**Author: Finally finished this chapter. Took a while to write. Hope you liked it. Let's see who's next . . .**


	12. Two in one

**Author: Wow, finally updated. Thanks ****for the reviews. **

Chapter twelve: Two in one

Ria's pov

Once again, I woke up from my uncomfortable sleep in the passenger seat in the Gummi ship. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. I couldn't find Roxas anywhere in the ship. The side door was wide open. I looked out the window and saw I was in the Land of dragons. I grabbed my bag pack and got up from the seat and went outside to look for Roxas. I closed the door behind me and the ship disappeared.

I looked at the surroundings which told me I was in the imperial square at the palace. Then, finally I found Roxas talking to a soldier. Roxas saw me and waved. He said something else to the soldier and then looked at me again. The soldier made his way back into the palace and I walked over to Roxas.

"Hi Ria, I was just talking to that soldier over there. I asked him about black hooded people causing problems and guess what? He said there are two here! Two!" Roxas said holding up two fingers.

"Do you mean like _two_ organisation members?" I asked him.

"Yeah!"

"You got to be joking me! How are we supposed to fight two at the same time?" I said rubbing my forehead.

"Well I don't think they'll fight together so we could split up and each of us would fight against one. It's the easiest way." Roxas said crossing his arms.

"Um . . . ok, we could do that. I'll go up the mountain and you can check the checkpoint and the camp." I said looking towards the mountain

"Let's go then. Good luck!" Roxas said shaking my hand.

"You too! Rox" I said, giving him a friendly punch. "Hey, let's make this a competition. Who destroys the enemy first wins! Simple as that." I said.

"Ok, you're on." He said giving me a friendly punch this time.

We got into starting position and I began the countdown.

"Ready, set . . . GO!" I shouted and we started running like mad.

We ran out through the palace gates to the check-point and I ran towards the Mountain trail. Once there I looked around to check for hooded people. '_None here. Have to go further up!'_ I thought.

I started to run up the trail. As it was going uphill, it didn't take long for me to drop on the ground and crawl the way up.

After ten minutes of pure torture I finally made it to the village. It looked as good as new since it was repaired after Shang-Yu burned it down. People were everywhere, shopping, talking and shopping some more. As I walked around looking for a guy (or girl) dressed in black, all people started staring at me like if I was some kind of alien. I wondered what was wrong with them. I decided to ask them about the organisation. I walked over to a small man who didn't seem to have noticed me.

"Hello . . . do-you-speak-English?" I asked him. He probably thought I was crazy but, how should I know if he could.

"Of course I can! We all speak English!" The brown haired man said probably feeling offended.

"Sorry, I didn't know. I didn't want to insult you." I said. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something, did you see any black-hooded people running around lately?"

"Oh yes, a person dressed in black came by here only a few minutes ago. He threatened the villagers with two purple things which could shoot red crystals." The man said looking frightened.

"Two red-crystal-shooting purple things, you say?" I said, trying to figure out who uses things like that.

"Where did that person go to?" I asked the man. I knew exactly who it was.

'_Poor Xiggy's the next victim.' _I thought and smiled evilly.

"That man went up to the summit. Are you planning to go after him?" The man asked me.

"Yes I am. Thanks for the help!" I said turning to the mountain and walking towards it.

Normal pov

Ria made her way up to the summit encountering a few Dusks. She knew that Xigbar was up on the mountain somewhere. When she reached the summit she saw a black-cloaked person shooting red bullets at heartless which were attacking him.

When he finished them off, he lowered his hood and looked at Ria. He had long black hair tied up in a ponytail. Gray streaks were running through it. His eyes were yellow, well his left eye was. The other one was covered with an eye-patch. He also had a scar on his face. He had his two gun arrows in his hand and combined them to form the Snipe riffle. Then, he pointed the riffle at the blonde haired girl who made her Keyblade appear.

"Hey, you're that chosen dude." He said

"Yeah I am. And you know what's going to happen now? I'll destroy you and you're organisation friends will never see you again!" She shouted at him and started pointing the Keyblade in his face. She didn't know why she lost her temper already.

"Really? I don't think so dude. You're still a kid, like Roxas. You don't stand a chance against a big dude like me." He said and started laughing.

"I might be a kid but not a normal one. And would you stop saying 'dude'! It's annoying!" Ria said. Xigbar stopped laughing and looked at Ria for a moment.

He didn't know what way to attack the girl.

After a few minutes of silence, Xigbar started shooting bullets at Ria but the girl dodged them and threw her Keyblade in his face, knocking him on his back. Xigbar jumped up and teleported behind Ria shooting at her back but again, Ria dodged the attack and swung her Keyblade in his stomach this time. The upside down hanging Freeshooter fell to the ground and looked up at the tall girl who was about to destroy him. Ria summoned all her power and swung the Keyblade in Xigbar's stomach one final time. He moaned and clutched his stomach.

Xigbar looked around him. Black smoke formed around him and he started to fade away like Luxord did. This time Ria felt even worse about destroying someone.

"NO WAY, DUDE!" Xigbar shouted and then he faded away completely. Ria's Keyblade disappeared again and she set off to help Roxas, hoping he found the other member.

**At the Bamboo grove with Roxas . . .**

Roxas and a Black haired man were having an unpleasant conversation.

The man had cold blue eyes which were looking at Roxas with hatred. Roxas had found the other organisation member causing problems.

Xaldin pointed all of his lances at the blond haired boy. Roxas summoned his two Keyblades and started to attack Xaldin who sent his lances at the boy. Roxas attacked the lances and send them flying back to their master. The two looked at each other again. Each waiting for the right time to attack.

"Roxas, you know you don't have the strength to defeat me." The man said getting ready to attack again.

He didn't give Roxas a chance to answer; instead he threw on of his lances at Roxas again which hit the boy hard in his face. Luckily he escaped the sharp bit but the side of the lance hit him so hard he fell over. Roxas laid on the ground defenceless and a bit bruised. He couldn't get up because Xaldin would just knock him down again.

Xaldin let out a really evil laugh and grabbed one of his lances to finish Roxas off.

He was just about to hit the boy again when something hard hit him in his face. Xaldin fell to the ground and looked up to the person who attacked him. It was Ria, who threw her Keyblade at him.

"Leave Roxas alone!" She yelled at the man. She pointed the Keyblade at him.

Like she did with Xigbar, she summoned all her power again and gave Xaldin the final blow before he could say anything.

Once again black smoke appeared out of nowhere and Xaldin started to fade away. Once he was completely gone, Ria ran over to Roxas who was lying on the ground holding his head.

"Roxas, are you ok?!" She asked the boy.

"_No_! I lost the competition!" He said standing up and smiling at Ria.

"_You_! You know, I was standing there worried half to dead for a minute. I thought you _were _dead for a minute." She said looking annoyed.

Ria's pov

"You were worried?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah!" I said.

"Well, you shouldn't have. I'm a bit bruised that's all." He said getting his bag and taking the keys out for the Gummi ship. He pressed the red button and the ship appeared in front of us.

"Let's go somewhere different. I want to get this over with, so we can go back to Twilight Town." He said looking a bit sad after mentioning the town.

I opened the side door and went inside. I sat down on my seat and threw my bag in the back.

Roxas came in, closed the side door and did the same.

"Let's go to Halloween Town." I suggested.

"Ok." Roxas said starting the engine. We took off to Halloween town and wondered who was next to face.

**Author: Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it. Who will be next? Well, keep reading and you'll find out. Please review.**


	13. Two best friends reunite

Chapter thirteen: Two best friends reunite

Normal pov

Jack Skellington was just on his way back to the research lab to give Dr. Finkelstein the last ingredient he collected from the graveyard for the potion the doctor wanted to make. He was just about to leave the graveyard when he saw a weird looking red object landing in the Hinterlands, a quite wood which contained trees with various symbols each representing a different holiday. The symbols were like doors which let into a different town, e.g. Christmas town. The red object had the appearance of a plane. He thought it looked kind of familiar. Then, after five minutes of hard thinking it popped into his head. It was the Gummi ship which Sora used to get into this world. Delighted, he strolled of to the forest where it had landed. He hadn't seen Sora for a year now and it made him happy every time Sora came to visit. He wondered if Sora knew about the skinny, black cloaked person causing havoc.

**Mean while in the forest . . .**

The side door of the Gummi ship opened, a boy and girl stepped out which had transformed into magical creatures from legends.

The boy looked like a vampire. His blonde, spiky hair looked darker than before. His tanzanite blue eyes had turned navy and his clothes black. Two fangs were sticking out of his mouth. He didn't look like the kind and caring Roxas anymore. He looked like a dangerous, evil villain which from far away you could mistake for Sora.

Beside him, stood a girl which looked like an angel of death. Same as Roxas, her hair looked darker and her blue eyes had turned navy. She wore a black top and skirt. Both were ripped in different places. She also wore black boots going up to her knees. She had large, black wings and carried a scythe in her right hand. Her skin had turned pale, almost white. The once sweet and shy Ria, looked like a savage and bloodthirsty killer.

They looked at each other, shocked. The one barely recognised the other.

"Are you Ria?" Roxas asked the angel uncertain.

She looked at him raising an eyebrow. It annoyed her that he didn't recognize her completely.

"No! I'm the queen of Sweden!" She answered him sarcastically.

Roxas looked confused at her. This annoyed her even more. She was ready to explode again.

"Course I'm Ria! Who else!?" She yelled at him.

"Relax! Why are you in a bad mood again?" Roxas asked her.

"Well, look at me. I look like someone who has risen from the dead to go and kill people!" She said looking scythe in her hand. For a second it looked like there was blood on the long, sharp, curved blade but looking closer it turned out to be rust.

"It's not that bad." Roxas said looking at her admiringly. "In fact, I think it looks cool." He said.

Ria suddenly blushed again which was even more noticeable than the last time due to the pale skin. Even though Roxas saw the red face once again, he didn't comment it. He didn't want the same to happen like last time. She felt a bit happy that Roxas thought she looked cool but also embarrassed.

"Um . . .thanks." The angel said quietly.

Once again there was silence between them. Both, Ria and Roxas looked at the ground. It was another awkward situation. Ria hated herself for blushing again.

The silence broke when Jack, the Pumpkin King entered the wood and thought Roxas was Sora. Jack wondered who the savage looking girl standing beside him was. He knew it wasn't Kairi by the dark blond hair the girl had. He grew uncertain if the vampire was really Sora.

"Sora, is that you?" The skeleton shouted uncertain.

Roxas and Ria turned around and stared at the bony Jack who was staring at them as well.

Jacks eyes suddenly fixed on the scythe in Ria's hand. It scared him.

"Er. . . no I'm not Sora." Roxas answered the confused skeleton.

"Oh I thought you. . . Do you know him?" Jack asked.

"Um . . . Yeah, kinda." Roxas said scratching the back of his head.

"Well I just wanted to say you look a lot like him." The Pumpkin king said shaking his head up and down.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Roxas said thinking of the time Kairi hugged him thinking he was Sora. He shuddered remembering the memory.

Ria noticed that Jack's eyes were fixed on the scythe in her hand. She could see the fear in the two empty eye-sockets in his skull which were supposed to be his eyes. She thought of something to say to him. She didn't want the skeleton to spread rumours about an angel who has come to kill all the inhabitants in Halloween town.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you. I might look like a bloodthirsty killer but in the inside I'm sweet and cuddly . . . well, I don't really know about the cuddly part but anyway. You know what they say, 'You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance'!" Ria told the skeleton who was startled by the creepy looking girl talking to him.

Then he remembered the ingredient he was supposed to bring to the research lab. Dr. Finkelstein was going to explode if he didn't get the piece of bone soon.

"Oh, I understand, you're here for the 'Best creepy creature contest'." Jack said agreeing to his own statement.

"Um . . . No, I just transformed into this when we entered the world. That's all. . . That brings me to the point; did you see any suspicious looking black-cloaked people running around?" Ria asked him.

"Yes in fact I did. Just a few hours ago a black–cloaked person ran past me. I wanted to stop him or her because he or she looked very creepy and we still needed contestants for the 'Best creepy creatures' competition but the person just kept running. He or she has been causing a lot of problems in the last few days. I don't know where the person went of to." Jack said remembering how the black-cloaked person pushed him out of the way

"We are here to eliminate the trouble-maker!" Ria said.

"That's good. I have to go now. I have to give this piece of bone to Dr. Finkelstein and he is very impatient." And with that Jack left the two teenagers.

Roxas locked the Gummi ship and it disappeared again. They discussed where to look for the next organisation member and set of to the graveyard. It annoyed Ria that they had to search again.

"I'm really getting sick of this. Why do we always have to look for the culprits? Why can't they find us?" Ria said kicking the snow on the ground.

Roxas didn't hear her. He had his 'head in the clouds' as they say. They came to the graveyard which didn't really spook them. After a good look at the graves (which seem to fall down on you when you touch them) and the surroundings it was time to look somewhere else. They didn't find anything suspicious.

Ria got really annoyed and she experienced another mood swing. Roxas kept a good distance away, just in case. He didn't want to end up with no head.

Ria's pov

We couldn't find anyone in the graveyard so we walked to the curly hill. If we didn't find anyone up there I would explode. I hated looking for the Organisation members as they always took hours to find, especially the sneaky ones. I looked at Roxas, he kept his distance.

He noticed me staring at him and gave me a nervous smile. I wondered what was wrong with him.

After five minutes of not finding anything again I decided that it was enough.

"IF THERE IS ANY ORGANISATION MEMBER HERE WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST SHOW YOUR SELF SO I CAN DESTROY YOU AND MOVE ON!" I shouted.

Roxas jumped by my sudden outburst. He took another step away from me.

"Ria . . . I don't think they would show them selves on your command." Roxas said carefully not wanting to trigger any violent behaviour.

"Well, if you think _you _can do it better I would like to see you try!" I said in a dangerous low voice.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, they normally appear when you least expect it." He said nervously.

We where interrupted by the same familiar voice I heard in Twilight Town. It was Axel again. He didn't look very happy, or evil for that matter.

"Well . . . look what we have here . . . if it isn't Roxas." Axel said. His eyes were fixed at Roxas. If you ask me he looked kinda sad.

"Axel . . ." Roxas said quietly. He didn't look at Axel. I knew it wasn't my fight that time, but, as always, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. For a second it looked like Axel was going to attack Roxas.

"You know Axel, we don't have to fight you. I think we can settle this by talk." I said trying to look as convincing as I could.

"Ria!" Roxas whispered at me.

"What?!" I whispered back. I don't know why boys always fight to settle things.

"I don't want to fight him. He is . . . was my best friend! I couldn't fight my best friend!" He whispered again so Axel couldn't hear. Sadly, Axel did.

"What do you mean by 'was'?" Axel asked Roxas raising an eyebrow.

"You're with the Organisation, they're my enemies so you're my enemy too." Roxas answered him.

"So your not my best friend anymore cause I'm technically with the Organisation?! Well I got news for you; Saix's after me because I didn't obey Xemnas when he told me to kidnap you after I tried to kidnap your friend over there! I'm on the run, you know! If that blue-haired maniac Saix finds me he's going to kill me!" Axel said getting all fiery.

Roxas wanted to say something insulting but I stopped him. I needed them to be friends again. If I succeeded we might have another person hunting down the Organisation with us. And not to forget, I would be with one of my favourites.

"Stop it you two! NOW!" I said giving each of them my nastiest look.

Axel looked at me as if to say 'stay out of it'. I continued giving him the nasty look.

"What are you going to do if we won't?" Axel asked me challengingly.

"If you continue I _will_ try to chop your heads off!" I said trying to look scary. Axel sneered.

"I'm not bluffing!" I said putting the blade of the scythe dangerously close to Axel's neck.

"Axel . . . I think she means it." Roxas said carefully pulling Axel out of my sight. My eyes followed Axel though.

Can't you two forget the past and be friends again. You two are making me sad. I hate when two friends become enemies. Please!" I said putting on the cutest face which worked with Roxas all the time.

They both looked at me and then each other. Axel had softened up a bit looking at my face which was supposed to look cute. Roxas did as well which was no surprise.

"I suppose we could be friends again." Roxas said quietly.

"Yeah." Axel replied.

"Well shake hands or do whatever proofs you're friends again!" I said pushing Roxas closer to Axel.

There was another long silence. For once I actually waited patiently for something to happen.

"Fiends?" Roxas asked Axel giving him his friendly look.

"Friends!" Axel replied shaking Roxas' hand.

I wanted to ask Axel if he would like to come with us but I suddenly felt very shy towards him. It was a whole new experience meeting the friendly Axel.

"Hey Axel, would you like to come with us. We could keep you safe from Saix." I said, blushing a bit.

'_That's weird' _I thought. I only blushed when I liked someone much but not when I was shy.

Axel looked at Roxas and they both smirked. I glared at them for a second. I still hated the smirking thing.

"Yeah sure, but I don't think there's room for another guy in your Gummi ship." He said.

"Course there is. We'll just leave some stuff here." I said looking at Axel hopefully.

"If that's ok with you Roxas, I would be glad to come." Axel said smiling a smile I did not recognise.

"It's fine with me." Roxas said.

"Yay! Come on guys there're are still nine to go! We can do this." I said.

Roxas pressed the red button on the key and The Gummi ship appeared again and we stepped in. I threw a few things out into the snow and made room for Axel. I was thrilled that he came with us.

"Oh yeah, how's Xion?" Roxas asked Axel cheerfully when he was seated.

Axel looked sad when the girl's name was mentioned.

"She's . . . not a Nobody anymore. Sora destroyed her when she confronted him. She was looking for you and thought if she turned Sora into a heartless again she would find you. I'm sorry. It took me long to get over it as well." Axel said avoiding Roxas' face.

The atmosphere was tense. Nobody said anything. I could sense that Roxas was sad. We set of to the next world and I tried to sleep again.

**Author: Hope you enjoyed chapter thirteen. R & R please.**


	14. Marley and me

Chapter fourteen: Marley and me

Ria pov

It was a cold day. I looked around, trees where everywhere. A few steps ahead of me stood a huge, white gate. Behind the gate was a bridge which led over to an island. On that island stood a big, white castle which had four purple towers around it. I thought it looked cute.

Roxas and Axel where still in the Gummi ship fixing a little problem. The ship suddenly caught fire in flight and now all the inside was black. The fire had damaged the engine. All I'm going to tell you is; it was Axel's fault.

"Will you guys hurry up!? I'm cold!" I shouted rubbing my hands together. Pity I didn't have a jacket or jumper.

"These things need time!" Axel replied.

"You have all the time you need when we are done here!" I said and with that I dragged the two out of the ship and closed the door.

"What was that for?! I nearly had it!" Axel said crossing his arms.

"That can wait. Let's go and see if we could have a look around that castle over there." I said not caring the slightest if he was going to be mad at me.

I walked towards the gate and pushed it open. I was surprised that it wasn't locked.

I looked at the bridge and made sure that it was stable. Then I walked over it to the castle. It had a small, purple front door. I knocked twice and started to wait. The boys hesitated for a second and then followed me.

After about two minutes the door opened and a young woman stepped out. She had brown hair tied up in a ponytail and brown eyes. She wore a simple, blue dress. I recognised her. It was Belle.

"May I help you?" She said, her voice sounding calm and generous.

"Um . . ."

'_Come on Ria, make something up!'_

Well . . . um, we are on a long journey and our, um . . . vehicle in which we travel in, broke down. We where wondering if we could stay for a nigh or two?" I said hoping I sounded honest. The story was half true anyway.

"Oh I understand. Of course you can stay, we have plenty of rooms. My friend, who lives here as well, is on a long journey too. He normally doesn't like visitors but he's not here, is he?" Belle said smiling sweetly.

She stepped out of the way and we walked inside the castle. We were in a long corridor which led to a staircase. The staircase went up a bit and the divided into two. One led to a corridor on the right and the other one to a corridor on the left.

Belle stepped up the stairs and turned to the right. We followed her into another corridor. The corridor had many doors. A red carpet laid in the middle of the floor and stretched the whole way to the end.

"My name is Belle." She said, stopping at a purple door.

"I'm Ria, this is Roxas"

"Hi!"

"And that over there is Axel" I said pointing at the red-head.

"Lovely. This room will be yours, Ria." Belle said opening the door. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Belle showed the boys their room. They had to share one.

My room was a normal size. It contained a small bed, a table and chair, a mirror and a statue of an angel. The room had an empty feeling. A glass door led out to a balcony. I placed my bag-pack on the table and looked around.

**Mean while in Axel's and Roxas' room . . .**

Axel's pov

Our room was quite big. It had two beds standing opposite each other, a large table with four chairs and a mirror. It felt very empty but I was used to that. A glass door led out to a balcony. I sat down in one of the chairs and so did Roxas.

"Hey Roxas, did Ria tell you how she knows a lot about the Organisation?" I asked my good friend.

"No. Every time I ask she dodges the question. It's like she's holding a secret." He replied.

"I'll ask her again." I said.

"You can try but she won't tell you. Trust me, I know." Roxas said sighing.

"If there's a will there's a way." I said smiling evilly.

**Back with Ria . . . **

Ria's pov

I was getting bored of walking around and doing nothing so I decided to go over to the boys.

I stepped out of the room and walked quietly over to the other room. I knocked and then went in. Roxas and Axel sat there on their chairs like they've been expecting me. I didn't feel bothered and sat down beside Roxas.

"Hey Ria, can I ask you something?" Axel said.

"Sure, go ahead." I said not expecting anything serious.

"How do you know all that stuff about the Organisation?" He asked.

I felt a bit shocked. Every time Roxas asked me I managed to avoid an answer but with Axel I wasn't sure I could. I tried anyway.

"Um . . . who do you think we'll meet next?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"You're not answering my question." Axel said. Then he got up, walked towards the door and locked it.

"Axel . . . why did you lock the door?" I asked him suspiciously.

"Because you're not leaving this room till we know the answer." He said crossing his arms.

"Nah-ah! I don't do black-mail." I snapped.

"Will you _please_ tell us?" Roxas asked smiling his smile I couldn't resist. I moved away from him when I remembered what happened at my second day in Twilight Town

"Fine!" I said not liking that I was defeated.

"I read about the Organisation in a thing called 'Ansem report'." I said giving as little as possible information.

"Never heard of an 'Ansem report' before but anyway, thanks that you finally answered." Roxas said and Axel unlocked the door again. I expected, they wanted to know more but was happy they didn't.

"Now, let's get down to business. Axel, you should know which Organisation member is here." I said looking at Axel.

"Well, this world would suite Marluxia perfectly. There's a big chance that he'll be here somewhere. You probably know that he loves flowers. I saw a whole flower garden outside the window." Axel said.

I didn't reply. I stood up and walked to the glass door. I opened it and went outside to the balcony. Ivy grew down it. I checked if it was good enough to climb. It was, so I started climbing down it. Roxas ran out to the balcony and looked down the ivy when I was already half way down.

"What are you doing?" Roxas shouted down.

"What does it look like? I'm going to look for the flower guy!" I shouted back up.

"You just stay there with Axel and look out for anything strange . . . Oh yeah, if Belle brings you some food, keep some for me, got it!?" I said and continued to climb down.

When I was finally down I walked towards the flower garden. I followed a path. Around me grew red and white roses. The path led to a small well. A noticed a black-cloaked man fetching water out of it. He then walked over to the roses and watered them. He had pink hair which was highly unusual, especially for a man. I knew it was Marluxia. It was hard to believe he was member of an evil Organisation. To me he looked like a normal Gardner taking care of his plants. I couldn't bring my self to attack so I decided to watch him.

After about five minutes he was finished. He wanted to check on the flowers behind me so he turned around. He didn't seem surprised that I was standing there. He started smiling evilly.

"I see you are still standing there. I thought you would have tried to attack me by now. You are a typical human girl. You're letting your feelings get into your way. Very human like behaviour." He said still smiling.

"Trust me; I won't let my feelings take over. You're going to be gone before you know it." I said cheekily.

"Is that so? Anyway, I heard Axel is with you. He can not be trusted. He will stop at nothing to turn you into a heartless. He will betray you." Marluxia said not looking like he cared.

"I think me and Roxas will judge that, won't we?" I said cheekily again.

"It doesn't matter; Saix will hunt you all down anyway." He said not showing any emotion.

"Enough talking, I want to get this over with!" I said and made my keyblade appear.

"Very well then." Marluxia said.

He raised his hand and rose petals appeared out of nowhere. They connected to each other and formed the shape of a scythe. A gust of wind blew the petals away and revealed a green scythe with a sharp, pink blade.

I took a deep breath and ran at Marluxia like I did with the others. I nearly reached him but he created a shock wave with his weapon and it threw me on the ground. He laughed evilly and then pulled me up and grabbed my neck. I think he wanted to choke me.

"How foolish of you to think you can defeat me all by yourself. I will turn you into a heartless and then, I will destroy you." He said evilly.

"Oh yeah?! Well-I-have-a-surprise-for-you." I said gasping for air.

I waited for a moment. His grip got stronger and I needed oxygen badly.

Then I gathered my last strength and spit into his face.

He led go of my neck immediately and ran over to the well to wash his face. I breathed heavily and rubbed my neck. It was hard to breath. I got up from the ground and ran at him again. Something gave me strength. He turned around, wasn't ready to fight back and before he even knew it he reeled back and nearly fell into the well. I gave him no chance to get ready to attack. Before he could steady himself he reeled back again, this time narrowly escaping the bricks on the well.

I picked up his scythe from the ground. I wanted to use his weapon against him. He looked up at me and tried to summon some flower petals but I swung his scythe and it send him reeling back once again. His head hit a stone on the ground and he passed out. I threw the scythe away and looked at my Keyblade. I knew it was time to end his career of evil doings. I gave him a final blow to his stomach and quickly laid his scythe beside him.

"Look on the bright side, you'll still live. You'll be back at Ansem's lab working hard." I said feeling relieved I wasn't dead. I knew he couldn't hear me but I felt better talking anyway.

I watched Marluxia fade away like three of his fellow members did before him. Strange thing was, I didn't feel sad or anything. How could you, if the guy tried to kill you first anyway?

I went back to Roxas and Axel. I felt happy that there was another bad guy gone.

**Back at the castle . . .**

I climbed up the ivy again and found Roxas and Axel asleep. There heads where on the table.

I couldn't help but laugh. It looked kind of funny.

"Wake up you guys!" I shouted. They wouldn't budge so I went over to Roxas' head and shouted the same thing into his ear.

Roxas jumped out of the chair.

"WHAT THE-" He shouted and looked around.

"Oh, it's you." He said sitting down again.

I did the same thing to Axel and he nearly set the table on fire.

After he saw me laughing hard he calmed down again and sat down in his chair. They were both interested to hear what happened.

"Well, there's not much to tell. Like Axel said, Marluxia was there in the garden. He watered the flowers. Then he talked about you, Axel betraying me and Roxas and that you will turn us into heartless. After that, he tried to choke me but I spit into his face and then attacked him. After about ten minutes, Marluxia hit his head on a stone and passed out. Then, I destroyed him and came back here." I said without taking a break.

"So he is now gone?" Roxas asked to reassure himself.

"Yes." I said.

"Great! Now we only have to fix the stupid ship and we can set of to another world." Axel said smiling his usual smile.

"Oh yeah, don't listen to all the stuff they say about me. They just want you to not trust me." Axel said and frowned.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. Let's go to the kitchen and get something to eat." I said.

Axel and Roxas both agreed and we set of to the kitchen.

**Author: I finally updated. Sorry you all had to wait ages. I know my description sucks so don't rub it in my face. Thanx. :D**

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	15. The underworld

**Author: I updated again as you can see. ****I think this is a good time to say that I don't own anything except Ria. Oh yeah, sorry about the bad chapter title, I couldn't think of anything else.**

**Warning: This chapter could contain some 'colourful' language.**

Chapter fifteen: The underworld

Ria's pov

After Axel and Roxas somehow managed to fix the engine in the Gummi ship we set of to another world with new supplies Belle gave us. As I was the chosen one I made the decisions so I decided we should go to the Olympus coliseum.

Once there, I looked around as usual. We walked in front of the huge coliseum. Not like the previous world, it was warm and sunny .

"Come on you guys; let's check in with Hercules and Phil." I said practically running to the coliseum door. I was excited to see Phil and 'Wonder boy' as Meg calls him.

"How come you're so happy all of a sudden?" Axel asked annoyed.

He hated the fact that I decided all the stuff we did. He thought he should be in charge. I disagree with that of course.

"I'm always happy." I snapped.

Roxas sniggered at this and I glared at him for a moment.

"Yeah, right!" Axel said in an annoyed tone.

"Let's go inside before someone gets hurt." Roxas said nervously.

The last time me and Axel got into a fight in the Gummi ship, the ship caught fire. So, now you know why it was Axels fault (kinda).

We went through the door which led into the Lobby. It was a small box-like room. Trophies of tournaments where placed on a table. No one was in the lobby so I guessed Phil was giving Herc another training session.

"Axel, before we talk to Phil, I think you should take your cloak off. Phil didn't see Demyx's face when he attacked him so Phil could think it was you." I said not expecting a nice answer.

"I'll leave it on, Okay?!" He snapped.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" I snapped back. His attitude was getting on my nerves.

"I never take my cloak of! Got it memorised?" He snapped once again

"You know, you could have said that in a nicer way!" I snapped back again.

"Break it up already!" Roxas said pushing himself in between me and Axel.

I gave Axel one last dirty look and then walked of. I went outside to where all the tournaments where held. I saw Phil walking around checking the weird pots he uses as targets in training. I couldn't see Herc though.

"Excuse me?" I shouted over at him.

Phil turned around and looked at me suspiciously. He was half man half goat. He was very small compared to me.

Roxas and Axel finally came outside too. Phil immediately looked at them. He didn't seem to like Axel very much as his face didn't look too pleased to see the red head. I was sure he remembered the time Demyx attacked him.

"What d'you kids want?" He asked in a rude tone.

"We were wondering if you saw any black-cloaked bad guys running around." I said as nicely as I could.

"Sure I did!" Phil replied sounding annoyed.

"Could you tell us where?" I asked the little man as politely as I could. Being polite wasn't exactly one of strengths.

"He's standing right beside you!" He replied rude again.

"What? Oh, you mean him. No, he's with us. Did you see anyone else?" I asked sounding a bit annoyed.

Well, lemme think . . . Yeah I did! Wore the same black cloak as your friend there." Phil said pointing at Axel.

"Do you know where he went of to?" I asked. I was getting tired.

"Well, he ran around the underworld. I don't have a clue what he does down there. It seems he doesn't know what he's doing himself. He didn't cause any problems, yet." Phil said and then, returned to his pots.

"I'm going to the underworld." I said and walked of.

Roxas grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Roxas, what the heck!?" I shouted.

"You're not going alone again." He said giving me a look as to say 'I'm coming'.

"Yes, I will go alone again! You and Axel stay here and look around!" I said shaking his hand of. By now I got used to him and didn't jump every time he touched me. He hesitated for a second and then turned around and walked back to Axel who didn't like the idea of staying back either.

I made my way to the underworld thinking about Phil's words. If what Phil said was true, the Organisation member here mustn't have a clue what to do.

I came to the gate which separated the coliseum from the underworld. A long set of stairs led down them. Not bothered to look out for danger I walked down till I came to the underworld entrance. I looked around. Nobody was there.

Then, a black-cloaked person ran past me to the underworld caverns. I waited for a second and then ran after the person. I wondered if he ran away from me.

"Hey you! WAIT UP!" I shouted

I followed the person till he stopped in the Atrium. I tried to figure out who it was.

The person turned around. He lowered his hood and a happy looking face was revealed.

It was Demyx. I took me a few moments to take it in that he was really standing in front of me. He had blonde hair which he had spiked up in the centre of his head and then cut short on the sides (Sorry about the bad hair description. His hair is awkward to describe) and blue eyes. I just loved him in a non-obsessed fan-girl kind of way.

He smiled a smile which made him tough and cool looking. I didn't know what to say or do.

"Um . . . you're Demyx, right?" I asked stupidly.

"Yeah and you're coming with me." He said now smiling evilly.

I raised an eyebrow. Why did he run away at first? I knew I was kind of stronger than him so he could try but would fail.

"No, I'm not coming with you." I said calmly.

"Um . . . but you have to!" He said.

He started walking toward me. He was taller than me so backed away. Through my eyes he seemed huge.

"Stay away or I _will _attack you." I said raising my right arm and making my keyblade appear once more. Then, I pointed it at him.

"Ooooh, come on, don't make this any harder." He said looking like he did when he said that nobodies have 'hearts'.

He started walking towards me again. That just annoyed me. He didn't take me serious.

"Are you deaf?! I said 'STAY AWAY'!" I shouted backing away again.

As he wouldn't stop coming any closer I decided to attack him.

I looked at my keyblade, then at Demyx and ran at him hooding my keyblade up high. I wanted to swing it into his stomach as it was easier to reach than his face but he caught my arm.

"Let go, you freak!" I shouted jumping around like an excited dog. I didn't know why I called him a freak because he wasn't one really.

When he still didn't let me go, I tried bite his hand. When I did, he let go of my arm and rubbed his hand.

"What was _that_ for?!" He cried.

I didn't answer; instead I got my Keyblade again and wanted to swing it in his stomach. He looked at me; his smile had vanished from his face. He looked really evil. I hesitated for a second. That was enough time for him to summon his sitar and making water clones appear.

I destroyed them and aimed my keyblade at Demyx but before I could do something, he started to attack me with giant water drops. I managed to doge them but slipped. He then grabbed my arm and pulled me up. When he wasn't looking I tried to bite his hand again and when I did, I pushed him on the ground while he was rubbing his it.

He sat on the ground and looked up at me. I swung my Keyblade at him again but stopped just a few centimetres away from his head. I dropped my keyblade and sat down on the ground as well.

"I can't do it." I mumbled.

Demyx looked surprised at what just happened. He expected pain and misery.

"What did you say?" He asked confused.

"I CAN'T DO IT! Loud enough!" I snapped.

"What can you not do?" He asked.

"Destroy you." I said and tried to calm down.

"Why?" He asked in a singsong voice. All the questions started to piss me of.

"Cause I CAN'T, OKAY?!" I shouted.

"Okay." He said smiling again.

He got up and walked over to me. He looked friendly now.

He helped me up and I started feeling happy again. The thought of being with Demyx filled me with joy. I decided to ask him if he would join us. I hoped he did even if Axel wasn't going to like it.

"Hey Demyx, could you join me on my journey?" I asked him trying to look cute.

"What journey?" He asked.

I explained my whole story to him. I was surprised that he didn't know it already. He probably didn't listen to Xemnas when he explained it to Demyx.

"Would you come?" I asked again.

"Why?" He asked in a singsong voice .

"Um . . . because . . . I-I . . .think it would be cool if you did." I said quietly and blushed. I covered my face with my hands.

"You know that you're blushing, right?" He said grinning.

"Damn" I cursed under my breath.

"Well, I would if I could but Xemnas would kill me . . . well, no, Saix would, but it's the same thing." He said disappointed.

"We'll protect you!" I said.

"We'll?" He asked.

I forgot to tell him bout Roxas and Axel so I explained it to him.

"Yeah, me, Roxas and Axel will!" I said

"Oh, I don't know." He said

"But I do. Your coming with me whether you want to or not!" I said.

I didn't give him a chance to answer. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

He didn't try to free himself, he just obeyed.

**Twenty minutes later. . .**

We finally came to the coliseum again. I was glad to be out of the underworld. It surprised me that we didn't meet Auron or Hades on the way. I entered the lobby with Demyx who seemed weirdly quiet. I guessed he was a bit shy.

Outside, Phil was teaching Roxas and Axel a few things. They looked exhausted. Phil made them race each other over and over again.

"Hey, guys!" I shouted. Axel stopped running and Roxas crashed into him.

I laughed and looked at Demyx. He didn't look very happy. I wondered what was wrong with him.

Roxas and Axel came running over to me. Demyx backed away a bit.

"Ria, what the heck is Demyx doing with you?!" Axel asked. He didn't look angry but I could see he wasn't pleased either.

"I told him to come with us." I said calmly.

"You did WHAT?!" Axel shouted.

Roxas pushed Axel away. I didn't understand what was wrong with Demyx coming with us. It didn't matter. I would make sure that Demyx will come whether Axel liked it or not.

"Axel, shut up!" Roxas told his friend. I smiled at Roxas. At least he didn't mind Demyx (much).

Axel looked at him surprised and then muttered something under his breath.

"What's your problem with Demyx? I asked him.

"I swear that he'll go running back to the Organisation! Ria, you can't trust Demyx. He'll betray us."

"No he won't!" I snapped.

"Yeah he will!" Axel snapped back.

"NO HE WO-"

"Don't start again you two!" Roxas said covering my mouth.

Axel looked at Demyx and Demyx looked at him. It looked like they would like to kill each other. Roxas and I just stared at them.

Phil, who was annoyed that Roxas and Axel stopped training, stepped in between the two. He stared to argue with them. Me and Roxas just pretended like they weren't there.

I started to throw another few items off the Gummi ship. I thought about dropping Demyx of in Hollow Bastion where he could go to Ansem the Wise and be his apprentice. I thought he would like it there. Luxord, Xaldin, Xigbar and Marluxia would be there already. I wondered how they got on. They shouldn't be evil anymore and they'd be whole again. I laughed at the thought that Xigbar would forever hate me for what I had done. He wouldn't be allowed to pull pranks on people anymore or turn them into heartless which he couldn't do without being evil anyway.

After Phil had finished arguing with Demyx and Axel, it looked like they were friends again.

They came over to the Gummi ship and told me and Roxas they agreed to get along.

**Author: Thanks for reading. Also thanks for the reviews from everyone. I appreciate them.**** I will try to update real soon :D ****Oh yeah, if you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me.**


	16. Fighting on four paws

Chapter sixteen: Fighting on four paws

Ria's pov

**What happened earlier . . .**

I decided to drop off Demyx in Hollow Bastion. He barely fitted in the Gummi ship.

To my surprise he agreed with my idea of becoming one of Ansem's apprentices. He explained that wanted to see Xigbar anyway. He promised us that he wouldn't go back to the Organisation. He couldn't anyway. They would just kill him or do something else bad. Ansem the wise would know a way for Demyx to get his heart back so he would be whole again as well.

When we came to Hollow Bastion, Demyx started to feel nervous so we had to reassure him that Ansem the wise was a good person. Ansem was very happy about Demyx joining the apprentices. He also thanked Roxas, Axel and me for hunting down the Organisation.

After Hollow Bastion, I decide we should go to the Pride lands. I thought it would be fun.

Axel disagreed again and we nearly started fighting over it (again).

**In the Pride lands . . . **

I stepped out of the Gummi ship and looked around. Skeletons of elephants and other animals laid around. The sky was clouded and the atmosphere was sticky. Rocks surrounded us. I didn't like the feeling I got of the place. It felt like a graveyard.

When I was finished looking at my surroundings I noticed that the ground was a lot nearer to my face than I remembered. Suddenly it felt like I had four feet and a tail. It all started to scare me a bit.

I couldn't see Roxas or Axel anywhere, only a yellow lion cub and a young tiger who were watching me. '_What is a tiger doing in the Savannah?'_

The looked strangely familiar. They seemed huge too, much larger than regular animals. It was either because I had shrunken or they were some kind of mutant animals.

"Um . . . excuse me, I know you probably don't understand me, how could you, your animals, but did you see a blonde, spiky haired boy and a red-head pass by here?" I asked feeling really stupid.

"Ria w-,"

"Why can you talk and how do you know my name?!"

"Ria! We are Axel and Roxas!" The tiger said.

"What? I don't get it!" I said feeling really confused.

"We turned into animals!" The tiger said sounding annoyed.

"What do you mean 'We turned into animals'?" I asked. I really didn't get it now.

"RIA; FIND A MIRROR AND LOOK AT YOUR SELF!!!!" The tiger yelled jumping up and down.

Then it came into my head that I had forgotten that people who entered this world changed into animals. Now I knew why the tiger and the lion looked familiar. I guessed that tiger was Axel (due to his attitude) and the lion was Roxas (who else would it be). I decide to tease Axel.

Man, you really sound like Axel! Are you related? I asked to annoy Axel even more.

"YOU. DON'T. GET. IT!!!" Axel yelled setting a near by dead tree on fire.

"Gotche!" I said and started to laugh hard. I laughed so hard that it hurt afterwards. Axel glared at me.

I looked at my hands. They were now, white paws. There was a piece of fur missing on my right leg which used to be my right arm. I remembered that my arm was bleeding when Roxas found me. The thing I still couldn't figure out was that in the real world where I lived, it was my leg which started to bleed. On the beach were Roxas found me, it was my arm. It's a mystery.

"Hey Roxas, what animal am I? I asked.

"You're a white lion." He replied.

"That's like so cool!" I said jumping around frantically.

I didn't need to get used to my new animal form. It felt like I've been a lion for years.

"Easy for you to say. It'll take me ages to get used to this!" Axel said.

"Aw, come on big guy. You'll get used to it real quick." I said walking over to Axel and giving him a friendly push.

"She's right Axel. Come on guys, let's go and explore." Roxas said smiling cheerfully.

During the walk through the dying Savannah, we talked about all the things we could do as animal.

Roxas was half listening. He seemed to be stuck in his own thoughts.

"You know, if we're animals, does that mean any organisation member here is an animal too?" I asked Axel.

"Could be." He replied

"Oh great." I said sarcastically.

"How are we supposed to find him?" Roxas asked.

"Well, Nobodies normally stand out. I mean, just look at me, tigers don't belong here. It's going to be an animal which doesn't live in this kind of terrain." Axel said.

"Ok. Let's ask the local . . . um, animals?" I asked.

"Who el-"

Axel was interrupted by a desperate cry for help.

"HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!" A small mere cat yelled running frantically towards us.

"Hey little guy, what's wrong?" Roxas asked.

"Sora, is that you?" The mere cat asked.

"Not again." Roxas muttered under his breath.

"Um, no, I'm Roxas." He said.

The mere cat wanted to say something else but Axel cut across him.

"Yeah, we know already that Roxas looks like Sora! Now, tell us what happened and why you need help!" Axel told the mere cat. He seemed annoyed again, like so often.

"Oh yeah, it's terrible! A huge black bear is attacking the King as we speak!" The mere cat cried.

"Does he mean King Mickey?" I asked Roxas.

"No, I don't think so. But if he's being attacked, we got to help!" Roxas said.

"Ok we'll help but what is a bear doing here? Do you think it could be a Nobody?" I asked the two.

"I bet it is! Let's go and see. Bring us to the bear, um . . . What's your name?" Axel asked the mere cat who was biting his nails. (Do they even have nails?)

"It's Timon." The mere cat replied and he ran towards Pride rock.

We followed him. Axel tripped over his own paws a few times but, in the end managed to keep up.

When we came to Pride rock we could see a bear and a lion fighting each other. The bear looked much stronger than the lion.

"If we don't do something that lion over there is going to be the bear's dinner." I whispered to Roxas.

I made up my mind and ran toward the big mountain of fur which was supposed to be a bear. It didn't notice me as he was far to busy fighting.

It wasn't your average king of bear. This one was bigger, fatter and more savage looking than any bear I'd ever seen. It smelled terrible as well. I hesitated for a moment and then jumped up on the bear's back. I stuck my claws into its flesh (it was disgusting, trust me).

The bears head turned around and he looked at me. I just smiled cheekily.

Then he started jumping around trying to throw me of his back.

"Roxas, Axel, a little help please!" I yelled at the two who were standing around doing nothing. I concentrated really hard on not falling of the bear's back as he would squash me and then I'd die.

Finally the two boys came running up. Roxas held his keyblade in his mouth. It looked funny but I didn't have time to laugh.

The bear stopped jumping at once and I nearly fell off. He eyed Axel.

"Well, if it isn't our little traitor." The bear said in a real loud voice. I had to cover up my ears or else I would be deaf for the rest of my life, I thought.

"Lexeaus . . ." Axel muttered.

"Why have you betrayed us, Axel?" Lexeaus asked.

"That's none of your business!" Axel retorted.

Lexeaus roared. It was so loud that I couldn't hear my self think.

Then, Lexeaus charged at Axel but before he could wipe Axel away with his huge front paws I tried to stick my keyblade into his back. It didn't work so instead of me succeeding he somehow managed to throw me off.

I fell and hit my head on a rock. I felt very dizzy and then fell unconscious.

**Ten minutes later . . .**

Some one shook me frantically and called my name. So, I woke up feeling like I just had a good sleep.

"What happened?" I asked getting up and shaking the dust off me.

"You fell unconscious." Axel said casually.

"I know that! What I want to know is; what happened with Lexeaus?!" I snapped.

"Oh Lexeaus, he's gone." Axel said not showing if it annoyed him that I snapped again.

"So, we can go now?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Where's Roxas?"

"With the king."

"King Mickey?"

"No, the other king."

"What other king?"

"The lion one!"

"Ooooh now I get it."

"Are you really that stupid or are you doing this to annoy me?"

"A bit of both. So, what's he doing with the king?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing that he's thanking Roxas cause Roxas is the one who defeated Lexeaus," Axel said "I helped him of course!" He quickly added.

Roxas came out of the King's den looking rather cheerful. He waved at me and then, ran towards us. Axel walked off and set up the Gummi ship.

"Hey, you're conscious again." Roxas said cheerfully.

"Yes, that I am. Well done for beating Lexeaus!" I said. I patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks, it wasn't easy. Come on, let's get out of here. I want to be human again!" Roxas said and we ran over to the Gummi ship.

It was time to go again.

**Author: Hope you like chapter sixteen. If you find any mistakes, please tell me!**


	17. What jealousy can do

**Me: Hi, I updated again as you can see. I just wanted to thank all my reviewers so far. If you are reading this story and you didn't review yet, please review. ****Reviews make my day!**

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Chapter seventeen: What jealousy can do.

Ria pov

All three of us, Roxas, Axel and me, were packed into the Gummi ship. Axel had the commando over the ship for once.

I sat in the back with Roxas to keep him company. I didn't feel like sitting in front with Axel because you never knew how he'd start a fight next.

For the first time since I woke up in Roxas' room, I thought about my parents. I wondered how they were. They had to be worrying sick about me. It made me feel sad to think about them. I didn't know if I would ever see them again and that thought was scary, trust me.

I had to keep rubbing my eyes a lot to wipe away tears.

"Ria, what was your world like?" Roxas asked for no reason what so ever.

My eyes became really watery. Thinking about home made me even sadder.

"Well, where I come from, there are many towns and cities. People don't believe in magic and all that stuff. I didn't believe in magic either till I saw Twilight Town. We call our world uh . . .'Earth'. You should come and visit some time. Maybe you think it's impossible but after me being attacked my Nobodies and waking up in another world which I thought never existed, made me realise that everything is possible," I stopped to breath "But now that I come to think about it, I might never get to see my world and my parents again." I couldn't continue as tears that I hadn't noticed till now, stained my face. I tried to wipe them away quickly.

"Course you will! We'll find a way!" Roxas said reaching for a tissue out of his bag.

He gave it to me. I was ashamed at my self for crying. I thought it made me look weak and fragile.

"Sorry, I lost it a bit. I have to stop being so pessimistic. And weak."

"You don't have to be sorry for crying. I can understand that you miss your home. You'll see, when we finish Xemnas off, there'll be a way for you to get home." Roxas said and it actually sounded convincing.

"Hey you two, when your done being all lovey dovey, can you, Ria tell me where to go?!" Axel said annoyed. _'He is so close to being kicked off!' _I though furiously.

"Firstly: We weren't being lovely dovely or what ever that was! Secondly: I'm getting SICK of your attitude; you're so close to being kicked off this ship! Thirdly: You can decide where we go this time if it will SHUT YOU UP!" I yelled, infuriated.

Axel didn't expect that outburst. He was speechless. Then he muttered something which sounded like 'Stupid girl' and there was a silence. I decided to go asleep so I didn't have to answer any more 'Axel' questions. I was doing a lot of sleeping lately.

**An hour later (I think) . . .**

I woke up. The Gummi ship had stopped and the side door was open. I looked around and saw Axel sitting in his seat looking at me. It annoyed me.

"What now!?" I snapped. I realised that his eyes contained a glint of shame.

"I just wanted to wait till you wake up to tell you something. I'm uh . . . sorry about earlier. We two really have to try and get along. We fight nearly every ten minutes or so," Axel paused. He didn't look comfortable. I guessed admitting he was sorry wasn't one of his strengths. "So, are we friends?" He asked me and put out his hand.

I thought about it for a moment and then decided that it would be easier if we'd forgive each other and move on.

"Friends!" I said and shook his hand.

"Good. I'll try to control my temper. I really have to stop reacting so fiercely all the time." He said and laughed at himself.

"Yeah, that's the problem with you. Where's Roxas, and where are we?" I asked curiously.

"We are on Destiny Island and Roxas is looking around for no apparent reason." Axel replied.

"Why are we on Destiny Island? It doesn't sound like your kinda place to be."

"Roxas decided to come here. He didn't tell me why." Axel said sighing.

"Wait a sec! A guy named Sora lives here with his friends, right?" I asked. The thought of Sora raised a sudden spark of interest.

"Yeah, why does it matter?"

"Uh, I was just asking to reassure myself." I lied. I was being careful not to reveal anything.

'_I'm probably going to see Sora. That's sooooooooooooooo cool!" _I thought.

After a short silence and wait, Roxas finally came back to the Gummi ship.

"What have you been doing?" I asked curiously as always.

"I was just talking to Sora and his friends Riku and Kairi. I told them about you, the prophecy and the King. Sora said he wanted to see you." Roxas said in his normal cheerful voice.

"Why does he want to see me?" I asked excitingly.

"Dunno. Guess he's just curious." Roxas said shrugging.

"Can we go to him now?" I asked all excited.

"Sure, if you want to." He answered.

'_Going to see Sora. Going to see Sora. Going to see Sora.' _My mind chanted cheerfully.

Normal pov

Roxas left the Gummi ship and Ria followed him. But before she left, Ria turned around and looked at Axel.

"Are you coming?" She asked sweetly.

"Nah, I don't think that Sora kid wants to see me." He replied tiredly.

Ria shrugged, turned around and ran after Roxas who had already gone ahead.

She caught up with him and breathed heavily. Together they walked along the shores of the tropical island. It was a warm day. The ocean was calm and the atmosphere relaxing.

"Roxas, why did you decide to come here? Surely there's no Organisation member to get rid off." Ria stated calmly.

"I thought we could use a little break. Besides, I wanted to ask Sora something anyway." He replied.

"Is it about Xion?" Ria asked not caring if she was being nosy.

"No, Xion is alright. Sora never fought her. Sora and Xion made up a rumour about Xion being destroyed. See, she was never on Xemnas' side." Roxas explained.

They walked up to the pier. Roxas didn't feel like telling Ria about his question to Sora.

All it was is that he wanted to know where Naminè is.

Ria's pov

We finally came to the pier. Happiness overwhelmed me when I saw three figures standing beside a palm tree. It was Sora, Riku and Kairi. They were real!

We walked up to them. My heart was racing.

"Hi again. This is Ria, the girl I told you about." Roxas said pointing at me. I smiled and waved a bit. " Ria, these are Sora," Roxas pointed at the spiky, brown haired boy. "Kairi," Roxas pointed at the girl with shoulder lent, dark red hair. "And Riku." Roxas said pointing at the boy with shoulder lent, silver hair.

"It's so nice to meet you all." I said friendlily. It was hard to pretend I didn't know them.

"Nice to meet you too!" Kairi said shaking my hand.

Riku and Sora nodded at Kairi's statement. I was so happy I had to concentrate hard on not making a fool out of my self.

"Oh yeah, Roxas I nearly forgot, Naminé really wants to see you." Sora said happy as usual.

"Really!? Is Naminé here?!" Roxas asked happily. He souned overwhelmed by Sora's words

"Yeah, She's here since we rescued her from Marluxia and the Organisation. She'll be here any minute. She hangs around here at this time nearly every day to draw the sunset." Riku said calmly.

We waited for Naminé. I was quite happy about seeing her but I knew that jealousy would kick in as soon as she and Roxas talked. Sora and Kairi bombarded me with questions about my life and home world. I think this is a good time to describe Sora and the rest.

Sora had brown, spiky hair and blue eyes. He was a bit smaller than me. He wore a white t-shirt and black shorts.

Kairi had shoulder lent, dark red hair and blue eyes. She wore a short, pink dress.

Riku had shoulder lent, silver hair and blue eyes. He wore a black sleeveless top, a white vest over that and blue trousers. He was taller than me and made me feel a bit small.

"Roxas!" A sweet girl's voice called that interrupted Sora and Kairi's non-stop question streak. It was Naminé. She ran up to the pier and Roxas ran over to her. Xion was with Naminé as well.

Naminé had blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a simple, white dress and blue sandals. Xion had short, black hair and blue eyes. She wore a blue, sleeveless top and a white skirt. Both looked very pretty.

Roxas and Naminé were standing in front of each other. They were so close to each other that I thought they would kiss. Luckily the only hugged. (Lucky for Roxas, that is. I will not mention how I would've reacted to them kissing. It wouldn't be a pretty picture in your head. He he he)

I looked at Roxas and Naminé and felt jealous right away. I wanted to avoid talking to Naminé but Roxas called me over.

"Ria, come on over."

I hesitated and then, with much displeasure walked over.

"This is Ria, I'm helpin' her defeat the Organisation." Roxas said and he looked at me. I smiled quickly to hide my jealousy.

"Nice to meet you!" Naminé said friendly as anything.

"Yeah, I think it's great you're saving the worlds from the organisation. Finally it's a girl who's the hero!" Xion said cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said and tried to sound convincing. '_Liar' 'Shut up!'_

Naminé and Xion started asking me questions about our journey so far and it annoyed me very much. Roxas just listened quietly not bothering to answer some questions himself.

"I just remembered, there's something I want to show you, Roxas." Naminé said after I answered her last question.

"What is it?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Come, I'll show you." Naminé said and then, walked off. Xion and Roxas followed her and I was left standing on my own.

I felt angry with Roxas for leaving me. I could understand that he was too happy to think about anyone at the moment but still, he could have asked me to come along too!

I walked back to Sora and his friends. I decided to go back to Axel.

"I'm going back to the Gummi ship, ok?" I said in an annoyed tone.

"You wanne go already?" Sora whined, disappointed.

"Yeah, there is still a lot to do. You guys have to come to Twilight Town once. Before I go back to my own world, of course." I said trying to sound cheerful.

"We'd love to come!" Kairi said and she clapped her hands in a childish manner.

"Yeah, we'll come." Sora said excitedly.

"Maybe. . ." Riku answered. Typical!

"Great! Well, I think this is good bye." I said feeling a little sad.

"See you and Roxas in Twilight Town then." Kairi said smiling sweetly.

I nodded once and turned around. I walked over the wooden bridge and along the shores back to the Gummi ship.

I stepped inside. Axel stared out of the front window. He didn't notice me.

"Hey Axel!" I said and sat down beside him. He didn't reply.

"Hallo Axel? You feelin' ok?" I asked.

"Uh . . .What . . . Oh, hi Ria!" He said a little confused. "How come Roxas isn't here with you?" He asked.

"He's with his 'girl friend'." I said jealously.

"Oh, you mean Naminé. She's not his girlfriend . . . I think." Axel said.

I didn't say anything in reply. Axel didn't say anything either. We waited for Roxas to come.

_'The sooner I get home the better.' _

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**Me: Hope you liked this chapter. Don't worry, Ria will not hate Roxas for ever, she likes him too much for that. ****Anyway, please REVIEW!!!**


	18. Welcome to the jungle

**Me: Yay, I finally finished writing chapter eighteen. I'm sorry it took sooooooo long. I hate making people wait!  
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Chapter eighteen: Welcome to the jungle

**What happened earlier . . .**

**Ria's pov**

It was an awkward flight to the next world. Axel decided to visit a good friend of his. It was young woman called Jane who studied Gorillas with her dad in the south African jungle. Roxas had never heard of South Africa before and neither did Axel. I guessed that the subject Geography in the school in Twilight Town was kinda different than in my school. Axel told us that Jane was friendly with some of the Organisation members.

As for Roxas, I decided to give him the silent treatment. He has asked me lots of questions but I ignored them all. I was still a bit jealous but mostly angry because he had left me standing on my own on Destiny Island. He was very fustrated at my sudden change of behaviour and gave up with the questions after a while. Axel stayed out of it and concentrated on flying the Gummi ship.

**In the jungle . . .**

We where standing in the middle of the jungle waiting for Axel to lead us to Jane.

Axel took the lead and Roxas and me followed. We walked on the moist, tropical ground and through many exotic types of plants. Many jungle animals preyed at us from far away. I could sense them.

Nobody talked during the walk. I kept staring at Roxas but quickly looked away when Roxas looked at me.

After a ten minute walk, we finally came to our destination. I could see a camp site through all the trees and bushes.

"Is that where Jane lives at the moment?" I asked Axel.

"Yeah, I think." Axel answered.

He walked towards a big, cream coloured tent. Me and Roxas followed.

"Hallo, Jane are you there?" Axel called into the opening of the tent.

"Yes, wait a moment, I'll be out in a second." A soft voice called out.

A young woman stepped out of the tent. She had brown hair and blue eyes. I recognised her at once. It was Jane.

"Why hallo Axel!" She said in a surprised tone when she saw the red-head.

"Hi, mind we come in?" Axel asked sounding like he was an innocent little boy.

"No, of course not! You're welcome anytime!" Jane answered cheerfully.

She stepped aside and we entered the small tent. A sleeping bag was stuffed in a corner and a small tea table stood in the center of the tent. I sat down on one of the tiny stools. Roxas hesitated and then sat down beside me. I could have told him to get lost but I kept quite and ignored him. Axel sat down beside Jane.

"I see you brought friends." Jane said curiously.

"Yeah, this is Roxas," Axel pointed at Roxas. "And that is Ria." He pointed at me.

"Hi," I said. Roxas smiled instead of greeting Jane.

"How nice of you all to drop by. Does anyone want tea?" Jane asked holding a pink tea-pot in her hand.

"Me, please!" Me and Roxas said at the same time. We glanced at each other.

Jane poured tea into two cups and gave them to us. I took a sip out of it and gave Axel a tell-her-what-we-came-for look. He looked a bit puzzled so I started pointing wildly at Jane. He still didn't get it. I frowned and decided to tell her myself.

"We came here to ask you something. . . Did any member of Organisation 13 visit you lately?" I asked.

"Let me think about that . . . Oh yes, You know Zexion, don't you?" We all nodded. "Well, he came by for a cup of tea. A fine young fellow he is." Jane said.

I had to stifle a laugh. Sometimes I laugh even though nothing was funny. My parents kept thinking I was crazy. I drank my tea but nearly spilled it all over my self as my brain kept telling me to laugh. Roxas glanced at me again.

"Do you have any idea where he is or what he is doing?" Axel asked.

"No, Zexion never talks about things going on in the organisation. He doesn't talk about his life much either. Mostly we talk about the jungle and it's inhabitants." Jane replied and took a sip of her tea.

After that, we talked about other things and finished our tea. I wasn't really listening to Jane or the others. I kept thinking about Zexion. I didn't want to fight him. I had always thought he was one of the coolest people in the organisation.

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We stepped out side and thanked Jane for her hospitality. I started to walk off to the hippo lagoon.

Axel noticed right away.

"Ria, where are you going?" Axel called over at me.

"I'm want to be alone for a second." I called back.

**Normal pov**

Ria walked off, Axel waited till she was out of sight. Roxas looked in her direction still puzzled at her strange behaviour.

"Do you have any idea what's gotten into her?" Roxas asked his friend.

"No, not the slightest." Axel lied and shrugged.

Roxas and Axel said no more about it and started to look for Zexion, hoping they would find him.

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Ria came to the lagoon. She walked over to the large pool of water and sat down beside it. She started to think about all the things that happened to her. She thought about how lucky she was to meet Roxas or any Kh character for that matter. Any obsessed Kh fan would pay any price to catch a glimpse of any Kh character. She wasn't jealous anymore. The jealousy had all worn off and now she felt ashamed. She felt bad for ignoring Roxas as he didn't deserve to be.

Ria looked into the water at her reflection and though of a way to tell Roxas that she was sorry without giving it away that she was jealous. She didn't want to lie either. Her thoughts started wrecking her head.

A strange sound made her jump up and look around. Some one was laughing at her. The laugh came out of all direction. It sounded evil and dangerous. Ria made her Keyblade appear just in case.

"Who's there?!" She shouted up into the sky.

"Some one you do not know." A male voice called out of no where.

"Show yourself!" Ria called back

"With pleasure." The voice called and a black portal appeared. A black haired man stepped out of it. It was Xaldin again.

"What the . . .!? I thought we defeated you! We saw you fade away!" Ria shouted. She didn't understand how Xaldin was back.

Ria felt frustrated but she ran straight at him. Xaldin wasn't ready for the attack so he got a hard blow to the head. He disappeared straight away and some one laughed again. Then, Ria finally got it. Xaldin was an illusion and she also recognised the voice of the mystery person hiding from her.

"Do you really think I was that stupid and would appear right in front of you like some other idiots in the Organisation did?" The voice called mockingly.

"You know, I'll tell Saix what you said!" Ria shouted and tried to threaten him.

"How should you know who I am, huh?" The voice called again and laughed evilly.

"I know who you are. Should I proof it? You know, I will. Your the Organisation's number six: Zexion. You're an illusionist. You were also Ansem the Wise's youngest apprentice! You know, I can even describe your look. You have silver-blue hair, a fringe that covers the right side of your face and blue eyes. Need I say more?" Ria asked challengingly.

The voice didn't answer. Ria was sure the mystery person didn't expect that. Then, another portal appeared and Zexion stepped out.

"Axel told us you know more than you should. That's the whole reason why I came. You are coming with me. Once we are at the base of the organisation, we will brain wash you and turn you into a nobody." He said smiling evilly.

**Ria's pov**

_'Not again.'_ I thought. I was getting sick of all the members that tried to kidnap me. Still, I felt delighted to see Zexion and had to try hard no to show it.

"Why are you trying to kidnap me all the time although none of you succeed? What is wrong with you people?!" I shouted.

"Do not ask questions. You will just have to come, conscience or not." Zexion answered calmly.

I ran at him again and swung my keyblade at his head. What surprised me was that he didn't run for it. He just stood there, smiling evilly till I hit him. Then, he disappeared just like Xaldin did. It took me a brief moment to understand that it was an illusion again. I felt furious.

"I'm going! You know what Zexy, you're a BIG coward!" I yelled up into the sky. I didn't notice the real Zexion (Yes, this time, the real one) sneaking up on me. I turned around and swung my keyblade. It accidentally hit Zexion and knocked him out.

I stood on the same spot for a moment, looking at the motionless Nobody lying on the ground.

"Ha! See, that's whatche get for sneaking up on people! I'm going to leave you here and a leopard is bound to show up soon!" I said to Zexion, pretending he would hear me.

I wanted to walk away but my legs wouldn't move.

After a wild discussion in my mind, I grabbed Zexion's arm and began to drag him along. I wouldn't carry him, that's for sure!

I thought of all the things we could ask him about the organisation. He could tell us where the rest of the organisation was hiding.

I walked past the campsite and back to where the Gummi ship stood. I was hoping to find the two boys waiting in the ship but they weren't. I sighed and opened the Gummi ship side-door. I dragged the still unconscious Zexion in and placed him in the back of the ship and waited. . .

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After about ten minutes I could hear Axel's voice through the door. I ran outside and was greeted by Axel and Roxas' annoyed faces.

"We looked everywhere we could but found absolutely no one." Axel said annoyed. Roxas nodded. He looked at me nervously.

"Well I did." I said happily.

"Really!? Who was it? Did you finish him or her off?" Axel asked curiously.

"It was the guy called Zexion. I didn't finish him off," I said calmly. "But, I managed to knock him out!" I quickly added when I saw Axel and Roxas' expressions on their faces.

"So, where is he now?" Roxas asked nervously. He probably thought I would ignore him again.

"He's in the Gummi ship. I wanted to leave him in the wildness to die but then I got an even better idea. We could ask him lots off stuff about the organisation like where they are and what they are doing. If he doesn't answer we could blackmail him." I said grinning evilly.

"Now you're finally talking my language!" Axel said and he too grinned evilly. Roxas still had the nervous look on his face which was starting to annoy me.

Axel went into the Gummi ship to look at Zexion.

Roxas was about to follow him but I wanted to apologises.

"Hey Roxas?" I asked

"Yeah . . ." He said and his voice trailed off a bit.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry I ignored you. For some strange reason I kinda felt mad at you." I said not mentioning anything about jealousy.

He looked at me for a second and finally, his nervous look wore off. He finally smiled again.

"It's okay. Hey, I'm a forgiving guy! I was really frustrated with your change of behaviour though." Roxas said happily.

"Phew! Are we friends again?" I asked.

"Sure!" Roxas answered.

We joined Axel in the Gummi ship, happier than usual. Things were okay again (for now).

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**Me: Yay. Everyone's happy again! All except Zexion who's still unconscious. Ah well, it's his own fault! Hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to review, right? Oh yeah, tell me if there's any parts that are kinda cheesy, weird or hard to understand.**


	19. Important questions

**Me: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I barely get any time to write new chapters since school started.**

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Chapter nineteen: Important questions

Ria's pov

Once again, Axel, Roxas and me where packed into the Gummi ship. Roxas and Axel sat in the front and had a lovely view through the window and I was stuck in the back watching over our unconscious 'friend'. I had already asked the two boys 'Why am I supposed to watch over Zexion?' and the reply I got was 'Because it was your decision to bring him!'

Anyway, I was hoping that Zexion would wake up soon so I could ask the location of the rest of the organisation members. After all, it's easier to find someone if you know where to look.

Every now and again I'd check Zexion's pulse to see if he was even alive. I'd also try to check his heart beat, which was stupid because he didn't have a heart. Somehow I didn't feel excited to be near him like I would've been a few days ago. All the 'Oh my GOSH, Kingdom Hearts is real' excitement was gone.

Roxas kept looking over occasionally. Axel concentrated on the ship and paid no attention to any of us.

I thought about what I was going to say when Zexion woke up. It had to be something convincing and friendly. Other wise, he'd probably refuse to answer any questions and would start complaining about everything. I couldn't think of any way to blackmail him. So much for my evil plan.

After about twenty minutes, Axel finally lost it.

"WILL YOU KICK THAT UNCONSCIOUS IDIOT SO HE'LL WAKE UP!?!?!?!?"

I frowned and remained calm.

"Axel, calm down! Kicking Zexion will not help." I explained slowly.

"How do you know?!" Axel asked rather rudely.

"Because. . . I just do! Being unconscious and being asleep are two different things." I explained impatiently.

Axel wanted to explode right in my face but Roxas had enough and interrupted us.

"Would you guys knock it off?! I thought you two agreed not to fight any more and to be friends?!" Roxas pointed out annoyed.

"We did. I'm just annoyed about Axel's impatience." I said and felt like I couldn't make it right for anyone.

"Well, I wouldn't be so impatient if that unconscious idiot in the back finally regained consciousness!" Axel shouted. He was practically fuming.

"Don't call him an idiot! He's way more intelligent than you are!" I defended Zexion.

"Why are you defending him?! You don't even know him!" Axel exclaimed.

"Would you two just SHUT UP!" Roxas shouted angrily. Me and Axel looked at him.

"Can you just get along?! You're acting like a bunch of kids!" Roxas pointed out.

"You have some nerve!" I muttered under my breath. I would've loved to jump at Roxas and punch him so hard that he'd join Zexion in the world of unconscious people. But I remained calm and behaved like a mature person. I sat back down in the back of the ship with Zexion. Axel did the same and Roxas was relieved that he had broken up the argument.

But Axel was just like a time-bomb waiting to explode again. I hoped that Zexion would wake up soon as I really wasn't in the mood to deal with Axel's next explosion.

Five minutes past and finally, Zexion moved. He slowly opened his blue eyes and rubbed his head. Then he looked around and I could see, he wasn't happy with what he saw. I smiled friendly anyway. Roxas noticed that Zexion was awake too and turned around to see what was going on.

"What is this!?" Zexion asked suspiciously.

I tried to think of something to say but couldn't. I looked at Roxas but he shrugged his shoulders. Zexion's face turned into an angry glare when he noticed Roxas was here. To break the silence, I began to talk even though I had no clue what to say.

"Hi . . . you are here because . . . uh . . . well, you sneaked up on me so I accidentally knocked you out by swinging my keyblade into your face and uh . . . I couldn't leave you to die because it didn't feel like the right thing to do so I brought you with us. Now you don't have to die painfully." I explained and finished it off with a beaming smile.

"How touching." Zexion remarked sarcastically.

That annoyed me. Could he not be grateful that I kinda spared his life? I guess not. I stood up, got so close to Zexion's face as I could and got ready to explode. I had another major mood swing.

"You know, you could say thanks or at least feel a bit grateful! I mean, I had the chance to end your live there and then but I didn't! Then I had the chance to leave you lying on the ground and letting the predators of the jungle take care of you but I didn't leave you, did I?! Do you know WHY I brought you with us?! No, you don't so let me tell you . . . I. WANT. TO. HELP. YOU!"

"Okeeeeey Ria, calm down." Roxas commanded. He pulled me away from Zexion's face so I had no chance to rip the guy's head of.

Even my furious explosion didn't change Zexion's emotionless face.

"I don't care," He replied short and simple. "How could I? I don't have any feelings." He added, clearly bored.

"Axel has no feelings, but he's still nice to Roxas and me." I pointed out, satisfied that I was right.

Axel switched the ship's control system to auto-pilot and joined the argument. As many people have already guessed, Axel loves everything to do with fights and arguments and he certainly wouldn't let this opportunity pass to give a few comments and remarks.

"He is just pretending. He'll betray you." Zexion defended himself.

Axel rolled his eyes and grinned.

"You know how many times we heard that in the past while?" Axel asked playfully.

Zexion didn't find anything else to say so he changed the subject. He had a gloomy expression on his face.

Yay! His face wasn't emotionless!

"What do you want from me?" He asked. He sounded as gloomily as he looked.

I decided to offer him some tea. The only way to get him to talk was by being nice to him, or so I thought. So not answering his question I said :

"Would you like some tea? Jane said you like tea very much." I offered politely. Roxas and Axel shot me two deadly glares. I ignored them and waited for Zexion's reply. He looked totally confused.

"I . . . Why are you being nice to me?" He asked, both confused and suspicious.

I thought about my answer for a little while.

"Because I like you and I really don't want you being killing by the organisation for failing your mission." I explained calmly and added a little smile again. I didn't know if the organisation would kill their members for failing a mission but hey, better save than sorry.

Zexion didn't expect the answer. I don't think anyone ever told him they liked him. He doesn't have a lot of friends, y' know. Axel and Roxas frowned. They weren't too fond of Zexion and neither liked the fact that I tried to be friends with him.

"Do you want some tea or not?" I asked firmly.

". . . Yes . . . Please. . ." Zexion mumbled. It pleased me that he wasn't trying to work out a catch. At least I thought he wasn't.

Smiling cheerfully I looked for my bag. I found it and took a small, red flask out of it. It was filled with hot tea (a present from Jane). I poured some into a small cup and handed it over to Zexion. He took the cup and stared into it. Axel, and Roxas returned to the front and left me to deal with Zexion. Not that it was a bad thing.

After a brief minute of silence, Zexion spoke.

". . . It there something I can do for you?" He asked and looked a bit ashamed.

My eyes lit up. _'Finally'_

"Yes! Since you can't go back to the organisation without me, you'll have to stay with us. That means you can tell us some things we would like to know about the organisation," I paused to breathe "I'll ask you a few questions, all right?"

"I guess so."

"Great! Question number 1: Why is the organisation constantly trying to kidnap me?" That was a question I was dying to know the answer to.

"I don't know exactly, but I _will _tell you what I do know. Xemnas my, no, the, leader first wanted to kidnap you because you were the girl from the prophecy and you needed to be out of the way. He was planning to kidnap and then brainwash you so you could be another member to fill in for Roxas. Then, only recently he found out that you're The Key to a door he says is special, the door to everlasting darkness. Beyond that door is something so evil, it will destroy all the worlds and cause great losses to ever living being. The person who finds it, controls it. The door lies somewhere deep within the castle and only with your help can Xemnas open it." Zexion explained gloomily.

I stared blankly at him. This felt really weird. It was like a movie, where everything depended on the main character and if he/she fails, everything was lost. How I hated these situations. I couldn't bear the thought of the whole universe swallowed by darkness and in Xemnas' control. He had to be stopped by all costs. The problem was, how?

"Are you telling me that I have to fight Xemnas _and_ some crazy maniac monster that will crush me in a second and I'll have no chance against?!" I asked, utterly ticked off.

"Yes, but before that you'll have to fight Saix. He is out there somewhere trying to find us. He will eventually hunt us down. He'll kill me, Roxas, Axel and he'll capture you and take you to Xemnas."" Zexion answered even more gloomily.

I twitched. A sudden desire to run away filled my head. Saix was probably one person that I felt terrified of. He really freaked me out in the game and I was in no mood to think about what he was like in real life. That was one dude I did not want to face. Great, now I'm starting to talk like Xigbar. These people are hurting my brain!

'Why is Saix hunting us? Would Xemnas not send Larxene or Vexen instead of his most loyal and trusted subject? I'm pretty sure we didn't encounter Larxene or Vexen." I pointed out worriedly. Fighting the living thunder cloud Larxene or the crazy scientist Vexen –no problem- but the mad-moon-man Saix -NO way!!!!!!!!!

"Neither Vexen or Larxene still exist. Both refused to face you because they were both in fear. They didn't want to end up like the rest. Because of this, Xemnas sent Saix to 'eliminate' both. I was there," Zexion shuttered at the bad memory "It was horrible. Saix knows no mercy. Then Xemnas sent me and seeing what had happened to my fellow members I dared not to refuse"

Zexion had managed to terrify me even more.

"So, do we go to the freakin' nobody world now? Saix is bound to turn up there." Roxas said completely out of the blue. I didn't even know he was listening.

"No!" I snapped fiercely.

What? Roxas asked unsurely.

"I'm not going anywhere near Saix! I don't want to fight him, I really don't!" I stated sharply.

"Ria, are you crazy?! We have to fight him. No matter if you try to run. He'll find you eventually and then you _have _to fight him!" Roxas exclaimed loudly.

"I'm not crazy! Saix absolutely scares me! Don't you get it? I'm so scared of 'im!" I squealed desperately.

"You've never met him so how would you know what he's like? For all you know he could be a small ten year old child." Axel stated in disbelieve.

I narrowed my eyes.

"You know so little, you understand nothing!"

"C'mon! Saix won't have any chance against the four of us!" Roxas encouraged.

"What!? That book-worm is coming too?" Axel asked unhappily.

"Yes Axel, Zexion is coming too," Roxas answered calmly.

"Fine! Let me tell you this though, if I run, I run and will leave you behind if you don't follow. You'll be stuck with him alone!" I warned feeling a bit displeased.

"I can live with that." Roxas stated.

"So can I." Axel mumbled.

"That's settled then. Let's not keep the blue-haired freak waiting."

**

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****That's chapter nineteen done. I hope you like it. (Please tell me about mistakes I made)**


	20. An unexpected saviour

**Me: I'm really glad I got this chapter done. There's a little surprise to make this a little more exciting.**

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**Chapter 20: **An unexpected saviour

Ria's pov

We were here, in the dark dead end in the Nobody world. From my surroundings, I figured that this place was like an abandoned city. Many dark buildings lined the sides of the streets. It didn't take long for me to realise that it was raining lightly because drips of water slid down my cheek and small puddles were forming on the uneven street. I looked up into the sky. The sky itself was pitch black but the clouds covering big bit's of it where illuminated by the large hearts-shaped moon that hung just beneath them.

The air was ice cold. It stung my unprotected arms and legs. I should've known to bring a jacket. My warm breath formed a cloud of condensed water.

I ignored the stinging cold and marched towards the white castle that was visible at the end of the long street. The three boys followed me without a word. They were used to this cold because they lived here for a long time. It didn't bother them at all.

At the sky-scraper, I stopped to think about how I was going to avoid facing Saix. If I set foot into the castle, Xemnas would be bound to know it. He could summon Saix at any time and tell him to come and get me.

The rain became harder. It didn't take long till I was soaked to the skin and shivering constantly.

"C'mon Ria, we better hurry before you catch a cold." Axel pushed me forward. His hand were so warm, it felt like they could burn right through my skin. Roxas and Zexion followed.

"Yeah, if you won't be able to fight, we're all doomed." Roxas stated.

* * *

As soon as we entered the castle my instincts were screaming at me to run. Somehow I sensed Saix's presence. He was close. He made me forget about my cold, wet clothes and skin.

The castle was a little warmer on the inside but not much. The design of it was uncreative and boring. There was no colour anywhere at all. Just a lot of blank walls and staircases. A few windows shaped like the Nobody sign showed the outside scenery.

"Saix is here, I can feel it." I whined nervously.

Axel patted my back.

"You worry too much. Chill!" He ordered me.

"She is right, Axel. He is very close. I can smell his scent." Zexion agreed with me.

Axel turned around and glared at him. He still didn't really like Zexion.

"What do you know!?" He snarled angrily.

"Axel, Don't start!" I defended Zexion again. Boys, why do they have to use every chance to fight with each other?

"Ria's right Axel, if you start now, Saix will find us even faster." Roxas whispered calmly.

Once that was settled, we proceeded further into the castle. I was so paranoid that I could see Saix waiting behind a corner and smashing his claymore right into my face when I passed him.

Saix's pov

I watched Ria and her pitiful group of traitors walking to their doom. Seeing that Zexion had joined them should have made me angry but it didn't. With no heart, it wasn't really possible to feel such a thing.

I heard Ria talking about me. She was scared and that amused me. I always knew that I was scary but hearing someone calling me scary was very amusing.

I grinned to myself and summoned a black portal. It was time to let Ria face her fears.

'_This should be fun`_

Ria's pov

We were walking along on of the castles endless corridors. It felt like we weren't moving because all walls and the floor were plain white with no design on them what so ever.

I felt like my heart was about to burst through my chest. I sensed Saix. He was very close. Too close for comfort.

I stopped suddenly. Axel and Roxas hadn't noticed me stopping and walked into me. Zexion sniggered and I glared at him.

"What is it now?" Axel asked impatiently. His temper was rising again. That part of him was so annoying. I turned around and looked at him. My face wore a nervous and fearful expression. Even though I was also annoyed, there was no sign of it on my face.

"He's coming! Run!"

I tried to sprint away but Zexion must have known what I was about to do because he grasped my arm.

"There's no point of running away. You're here now, and you'll finish Saix off, now!" Zexion ordered firmly. I glared at him again.

"Hey, I said that I'll run away if I want to! Now let go of my arm before I break yours!"

"Oh, feisty!" Axel smirked.

"Shut up Axel!" I snapped furiously.

"Carefully Zexion, she might bite!" Roxas warned Zexion but he too was smirking.

They were really enjoying this. I shoot a look at Roxas and Axel that was dripping with venom. But it didn't intimidate him or Axel at all. I hated these gang-up-on-the-girl moments.

"Just you wait till I get my hands on you two. No one gangs up on me!" I threatened and was practically fuming.

Axel was about to say something that would probably infuriate me even more but our conversation was interrupted by a flat, emotionless laugh. My whole body froze in terror.

I found my self staring at my second-worst nightmare, Saix. He looked twice as terrifying as he did in the game. He grinned evilly.

Saix was a strong man. A large X-shaped scare was cut into his face. His eyes were yellow and vicious. They reminded me of wolf eyes and pierced holes into your body. His ears were pointed and he wore stunt earrings in the shape of the Nobody sign. His hair had the colour of a blue topaz. It was short and spiky at the top of his head and the rest was long and straight. And like the rest of the organisation, he wore a black cloak.

The boys got ready to fight but I was lost. I had forgotten everything that I was meant to do. I just stared into Saix grinning face not taking in what was going on around me. I could see that I was amusing him. He knew I was scared stiff.

"So Ria," His voice was cold, flat and made me shiver. "You're the foolish little girl who is trying to defeat the organisation. And I thought Sora was childish."

That made me angry for no reason.

"Hey, don't talk about Sora like that. He's a good kid!" Saix's insult on Sora had freed me from my fear.

"How would you know?"

"I'm not going to answer that. Now, enough rambling, get ready to be defeated! I'm sure the world won't miss you."

I summoned my keyblade and pointed it at Saix face. He grunted and summoned his claymore. Then he clicked his fingers summoning countless Berserker nobodies to keep Roxas and the rest occupied while Saix was fighting me. Saix also summoned an invisible wall separating him and me from the boys.

We started circling around like two hungry wolfs, each other waiting for the other person to make the first move. I wanted to turn around and see how Roxas was doing but it would risk me getting attacked by Saix. His face displayed no signs of fear.

We danced around each other for another while till I had enough. I stopped, Saix stopped.

"What now? Are going to give up or are you going to fight and then give up?" Saix asked wryly. His eyes contained a glint of hope.

"You're not going to think that I give up so easily, are you?"

"Perhaps not, but it wont be long till you do."

Without another word he slammed his claymore against the floor creating silver-blue shockwaves that swept me off my feet. My keyblade slipped out of my hands and slid across the floor. Then, he slowly walked towards me.

Even thought the attack was unexpected, it wasn't his worst. I quickly jumped to my feet and dogged his second attack. I caught sight of my keyblade, collected it of the ground and smashed it against his ribs. His claymore fell to the ground as he clutched his side. I picked up his claymore and smashed that against his chest. He slammed against the invisible wall.

Even though I felt pity for him, it wasn't the time to show mercy. I dropped the claymore, raced towards him and swung my arm back so my attack was more powerful but before my keyblade collided with Saix's body, he caught my arm and twisted it backwards. I bit my lip so I wouldn't scream. The sharp pain was nearly unbearable.

Saix then summoned his claymore and slammed it against my chest. I crashed into the wall and only noticed now that his eyes were completely yellow. His face was wild. He charged at me crying a wild war cry but before he could finish me off, everything went black for a second.

When I could see again, a long, sharp arrow sprouted out of Saix's chest. His legs buckled and he collapsed. Black fragments broke off his body. He was fading away. Before Saix completely faded away, he gave me one last evil, disgusted look.

The arrow fell to the ground and someone walked towards me. I was afraid to look up.

"Are you alright?" A gentle, deep, calming voice asked me. Two hands seized me and pulled me to my feet. I looked up.

The hands belonged to a young man about 18 years of age. He had shaggy, raven-black hair and cold blue eyes. He was taller than me by a lot. He wore a black cloak and looked like a member of the organisation. But he wasn't in any of the games, that was for sure. His face looked miserable, like he was in pain but it also showed signs of relieve.

When I didn't answer he let go off me and picked up his arrow and his massive bow.

"Get away from her!" Roxas voice was enraged.

I saw him race toward my saviour with both keyblades in his hands. His face was red with anger. The invisible wall had disappeared with Saix.

The black-haired stranger turned around swiftly, pulled a massive, coal-black sword from within his cloak, blocked Roxas attack and counter-attacked. Roxas was no match for the stranger's strength and slammed against Axel.

"I swear Zelix, if you touch her I will personally make you're worthless life hell!" Axel roared at the stranger while helping Roxas up.

Zelix looked at Axel, certainly unafraid of him. I was totally confused.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" I asked leaning against the wall for support. I knew my voice sounded weak.

Zelix turned around to me. He smiled a weak smile but before he could answer Zexion answered for him.

"Zelix is a new Nobody created when his Somebody called Ezil attacked Luxord in Hollow Bastion. That is why Luxord was weakened when you fought him. Since he found out that the Organisation are hunting you down, he travelled to different worlds trying to find the members and eliminate them before you did. Axel, Roxas and I have met him before. He was trying to eliminate us too but failed."

"If you are not with the Organisation, why did your name change? And why did you try to eliminate the members before I would?" I walked towards him but tripped. Once again he seized my arms and supported me.

"When I heard that you were going to destroy the organisation, I feared that you wouldn't last. I feared that the other members were stronger than you because you are a young and inexperienced fighter. So in order to keep you alive, I felt that I had to eliminate them before you found them. As you know, I had no success." He paused and slung his bow back onto his back, still supporting me with on hand. "And I don't know why my name changed. It was the first word that popped into my head after I became a Nobody."

I freed myself from his grip and picked up my keyblade. My legs were stable again.

"Well, I'm strong. I could have defeated Saix. But still, thank you for saving me from a very sore bruise." I grinned at him and thought about asking him to help us defeat Xemnas. And I did.

"Hey, will you help us to defeat Xemnas. He's the only one left to fight. I bet you're really strong." He looked at me and shook his head slowly.

"You're friends would never except me. Not after what I tried to do to them." He explained. He sounded ashamed.

"You're right there. Now get away from Ria if you want to live!" Roxas threatened dangerously. His face was full of hate.

"What is wrong with you?! He saved me. HELLO?" I snarled at Roxas.

Everything went black again for a moment and Zelix disappeared. I looked around, bewildered but he was really gone. Roxas' and Axel's faces relaxed but I was furious. I was convinced that Zelix could help us defeat Xemnas and now he was gone.

"Seriously, you really bug me a lot lately! Why couldn't you just let him help us? Life is too short for having grudges on people! Get over it!"

"We don't trust him. He might turn on us after Xemnas! You wouldn't be strong enough to protect us from him!" Roxas scowled.

I shook my head angrily.

"You don't get it, do you? He helped me! He DIDN'T attack you at all!"

Roxas raised an eye-brow.

"OK, he did attack you, but just to protect him self. Why do you boys always fight with one another?"

I glared at Roxas and then stormed away. I was going to fight Xemnas myself. Roxas and the others gazed after me but they didn't follow. I had to have the strength to defeat Xemnas alone anyway. I was the Chosen One after all.

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**Me: How was that? I really hope Zelix added a bit of excitement to this chapter. Please review. :-D**


	21. The final battle, part 1

Chapter 21: The final battle, part 1

I've been hunting through endless corridors, numerous rooms and huge halls of the white castle for almost 45 minutes. I was still furious with Roxas. If it wasn't for him, Zelix would be here to help me find and defeat Xemnas. I desperately wished that Xemnas would just appear in front of me so I could end this right now. I wanted to go home.

The castle was still very cold. It was not hard to realise that it was almost empty. The endless silence was the one thing that got to me the most. I expected Axel to loose his patience and roar with anger, but nothing came. I expected Roxas to ask me questions about meaningless things, but none came.

I was alone. It was only me, Xemnas and the drowning silence.

As I looked around,I suddenly realised were Xemnas was. He would always sit in the Room of Thirteen Chairs. Always.

I now knew where he was. The only the problem was, I didn't know where the room was. I regretted leaving Zexion behind. He would've leaded me to the room.

I slapped my forehead and sat down in a corner. I didn't care if it was childish, but I was just going to sit there and sulk, even if the three boys found me. I was annoyed at Zelix. It was hard to believe that he took orders from a person younger than him.

So I just sat there, arms crosses, knees pulled up to my body, head buried in my knees and _very _angry eyes burning a hole into the alabaster floor.

Someone entered the hall I was in. The footsteps were as clear as crystal and approached me. I was expecting it to be either Xemnas or one of the boys but in the end it was someone completely different.

"What are you doing here?" A familiar gentle, deep voice asked while the stranger it belonged to looked down on me.

I knew that voice.

'_Zelix!'_

I met Zelix's gaze. The miserable face was gone. He looked completely different when the others weren't around. He looked almost happy, but the gravity was always present in his features.

He repeated the question.

"Ria, what are you doing here?"

I didn't answer. It was like a silent staring contest. His face grew puzzled and frustrated with every passing moment of my silence. With a sigh he threw his long-bow onto the ground and crouched down in front of me. His trustful eyes stared into mine silently. I turned my head sharply, avoiding them. They ran a shiver down my back that I had wanted to avoid.

"Ria, if you don't tell me what's wrong, I won't be able to help you." Zelix's voice was slightly assertive. It woke my previous anger.

"Oh, now you want to help, do ya? Who was the one that decided to do a disappearing act earlier? You! I offered you once and you made the choice not to help me!"

He sighed again. I kept avoided his gaze. There was no way I would forgive him that easily. I had realised that I had been way too soft with the boys. From now on I would toughen up a bit.

"Ria, look at me." Zelix ordered firmly.

I snorted and ignored at him. With his icy hand, he turned my face so it faced his. The icy touch made me shiver, again. His eyes were narrowed, he was annoyed. Well, he could be as annoyed as he wanted to be, it wouldn't change a thing.

"Leave me alone! If I wanted company, I would have stayed with Roxas, Axel and Zexion!" I yelled explosively. He immediately retreated.

"Fine, I see how it is. Good-bye, Ria. I wish you good look with defeating Xemnas."

His sarcastic voice faded away as quickly as he did. He was gone again.

"Whatever. . ." I mumbled darkly.

'_Enough sulking!'_

With great effort, I lifted myself off the ground and stretched.

'_I'm going to show Zelix that he isn't the strongest around. I am!'_

I began searching again. This time with a little bit more confidence and determination. The silence didn't bother me as much anymore.

I tried looking for some sign that would lead me to Xemnas. But there were none. It really felt like I was constantly in the same rooms, halls and corridors. It began to creep me out.

In the end, I started calling Xemnas every bad name I could think off. I hoped it would make him angry (which I doubted because he had no heart) and force him to show his face to me. The longer it took, the louder I got.

I seriously need some anger management program! Or I should become a vegetarian. I read somewhere that meat was the reason for most anger problems. Weird, I know.

On the verge of snapping, I focused on what my instincts were telling me. They had nothing to say.

I never had to search for so long for any of the other members. Angrily, I yelled one last controlled threat. That worked.

"Why are you interrupting the calming silence with you're absurd threats?"

I recognized that deep, gentle voice immediately. It was hard to forget that voice once you have heard its weird calm tone.

"Xemnas. . ." I uttered, almost silent. He finally came to meet his end.

"That is right. It's nice to finally meet you. I heard a lot of stories about you. It seems like you're quite fond of us Nobodies." Xemnas' face looked thoughtful.

No matter how strong he was, I had to defeat him, before he led me to the door which only I could open. I had to be cautious.

Xemnas wore the basic black cloak, boots, and gloves. He had amber-orange eyes and tanned skin. His hairstyle resembled Xehanort's more than his Heartless counterpart's did, but it was silver, layered and much messier, with some of it falling over his shoulders.

After a long silence, I replied.

"I am. But you're not included in that." I stated calmly. If this was a game of 'who is the calmest', I would win.

He was a lot calmer than any of the other Nobodies I fought before. It was like he wasn't even expecting a fight. He circled around me with his thoughtful face.

"When I heard about an assassin out there to destroy the Organisation, I expected a little more. . . Well, more." Xemnas stated a little disappointed.

I growled and summoned my keyblade.

"I'm stronger than I look." I claimed. His eyes surveyed my face.

"I bet you are. Let me make it easy for you. I feel revolted of the idea of vanquishing you. It would be a shameful waste. You could join me and forget about those little make-believe friends you got there. I can help you get to your world. It would be my pleasure to."

Xemnas' lying words angered me. I knew he was a snake in the grass _(A/N if you are confused about the last sentence, as me.)_

"I'll never join you! What for? All your words are lies! You have absolute no remorse over anything you do because you've got no heart. You probably don't even remember what it was like to have a one. You would only use me as a puppet and I bet you wouldn't care if I died in battle. All you care about is power over all!"

His face filled with false distaste. His silence said it all. I lifted up my Keyblade.

"I'm sorry Xemnas, but it's the best for everyone." I apologized quietly. Even if he was evil as anything, the poor man was only doing things that he thought were right.

He stared at my keyblade while I positioned myself for an attack.

"WAIT JUST ONE SECOND!" A voice yelled, full of imaginary authority.

I flinched and turned around in disbelieve.

'_That better not be Roxas and the others'_

It was, but not just them. The voice had come from Riku. My mouth dropped open when I saw him. Behind Riku stood Sora who tightened the grip around his keyblade. I observed that Xion, Kairi and Naminé weren't with them.

Their eyes were narrowed and fixed on Xemnas.

Beside Riku stood a furious Roxas, a strange Zexion and a full-of-hate Axel. Every one of them had their weapons ready.

They wanted to fight, but not if I had anything to say in this. I was going to defeat Xemnas by myself.

"Guys, why are you here?" I asked, annoyed. Xemnas growled.

Riku rolled his eyes.

"What d'you think? To fight of course!" He snapped. There was no mistake that he felt like I wasn't up for the challenge. I frowned.

"No." I said clearly and I crossed my arms.

They all stared at me like stuffed chickens. It was almost funny if I wasn't angry.

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't need you to protect me. I can do this by my self." I said flatly.

"But you're a . . ." Riku's voice trailed off.

"What, a girl? So, that doesn't mean I'm not strong enough to pull this off on my own. You all got your fair share of playing hero. Now, it's my turn." I stated with authority.

"But-" Riku was interrupted by Roxas.

"She's right. She can do this on her own. I know she can." Roxas smiled at me. I smile at him too. All the anger I felt from earlier was drained from my body. Once again it showed what a good friend Roxas was.

Axel and Zexion agreed with Roxas too. They supported me. Yay!

"Sorry Riku, but she's right. She was chosen for this." Sora commented. I looked at Riku, smug. Riku sighed and then apologized.

"Your heart is strange, Ria. Your friends have angered you, but instead of punishing them, you forget about it." Xemnas made a thoughtful gesture.

I clutched my Keyblade and pointed it at Xemnas' face while narrowing my eyes.

"It's time for you to be eliminated." I stated coldly. The five boys nodded.

Xemnas smirked. It made me worry because it wasn't a good sign.

Then he lifted his hand and clicked his fingers once. Immediately we were surrounded by a dark, thick, black wall of nothingness. It was weird. If it was nothingness, why was the colour black present?

I couldn't see Xemnas. Everything was gone. There was only the dark nothingness which surrounded me. I felt frightened. I tried to talk but while my lips were moving, no sound was produced.

I was certain that Xemnas was gone too. I was all alone in a dark place with nothing.

Devastated, I collapsed, sobbing. I was sure that Xemnas would leave me here till I went insane and surrendered. Or would he kill me? The truth was that I didn't know. And the uncertainty was frightening me. I was completely helpless.

'_This is it. It's over. Freakin' well done Ria! You failed after having a big mouth and telling everyone how flipping strong you were!'_

While I curled up and thought about my failure, angry tears slid down my face.

'_It's not fair! Why me?'_

* * *

**Me: ****That's all for now. I was actually going to write more for this chapter but if I had, it would have been very, very long. It would also take me a lot longer to write so I decided to split one chapter up into two. **

**Anyway, it creates a bit of excitement if it's split up and you only find out what's going to happen in the next chapter.**

**One more thing, I need help to decide something. I wanted to write a sequel but now I'm thinking about adding the things in the sequel to this story. What do you think?**


	22. The final battle, part 2

**Me: I'm back with the chapter you've all been waiting for patiently. I want to thank all my reviewers for sticking with this story. Now, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the song and lyrics of 'Numb' by Linkin Park.  
**

* * *

Chapter 22: The final battle, part 2

Normal pov

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Ria was still curled up on the ground, hardly realising that the voice, and that the child to which the voice belonged, chased the nothingness away. She was sobbing too hard.

The child, a small boy, appearing to be five years of age, gazed down on her with bright, gentle blue eyes. He was very worried. He felt like it was his duty to comfort her.

He touched Ria's shoulder softly with his small, delicate hands and began patting her back.

As Ria lifted her tear-stained face, the boy smiled cutely. He noticed how terrible she looked. It triggered a silent, angry curse.

The boy looked like a younger version of Roxas. His hair was lighter though, and soft as feathers. His eyes were full of intelligence. For his age, it was a strange trend. He wore grey shorts and a white, plain t-shirt.

"Who . . . who are you?" Ria asked between her sobs. She sat up right. The five-year old sat down beside her.

The question seemed to frustrate him.

"I don't have a name. Xemnas never gave me one." He stated. It was obvious that he wasn't happy about it.

"Xemnas?!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Yeah, he's my creator. I'm a puppet, just like Xion was till Sora helped her gain a heart." He paused while Ria's heart filled with disgust that was aimed at the silver-haired Superior.

Then he continued.

"I was originally made to lure Roxas back to the organisation, but then Xemnas realised that he could use me to lure you to him. That's why I look like a younger version of your friend. At first, I looked like the person who appealed the most to Roxas, but now Xemnas changed me to appear like a younger version of the person that appeals to you the most. When Xemnas made me sent those nobodies into your world, to fish out the girl from the prophecy, I felt so bad for what I had done after I found you. In order to ease my shame, I rescued you from the Nobodies and teleported you to another place. You're probably wondering why I left you on the beach. Well, Xigbar was checking on what I was doing and I preferred not to reveal you to him so I dropped you off somewhere random. I had no control over where because I rushed it." The boy paused again. Ria stared at him, putting the pieces of her mysterious appearance in Twilight Town together.

"So, it was you. . ." The boy nodded. "How old are you?"

"I don't really know. Xemnas told me I was five but I'm never really a certain age because he keeps changing me. I'm always younger than the actual person I'm supposed to look like"

"Well, you can't be that young, your language skills are impressing."

"Xemnas taught me to talk like this."

"Oh. . ." Ria's forehead creased.

"I'm not supposed to be here. Xemnas wanted to leave you in the darkness till you went insane. But I'm refusing to let him win. I'm sick of him trying to hurt you!" The boy slammed his fist on top of the palm of his other hand, while narrowing his beautiful eyes.

"Ok. . . You know, I'll give you a name for starters." Ria stated. She smiled at the boy, causing a hopeful smile to touch his lips. His personality matched Roxas' as good as his looks did.

"Because you look like Roxas, but you're not him, I'll call you Roxas Junior, Jr. for short." Ria said and crossed her arms, content.

"Cool!" Roxas Jr. clapped excitedly. Ria copied him and together they clapped for a moment while grinning at each other like two happy fools.

After the clapping session was over, Ria looked around thoughtfully.

"Um . . . how did you. . ." Ria gestured at the white surroundings.

"Oh . . . dunno. Weird things happen around me. I really have no clue to where we are exactly. It's probably some in-between thing." Roxas Jr. shrugged and got up. He held his hand out to Ria.

"C'mon, let's get out of here and bring you back to your friends." Ria took the blonde's hand and he pulled her up. His strength was overwhelming. It made it obvious that he wasn't a natural being.

"Hold my hand and close your eyes." Roxas Jr ordered. Ria did so willingly.

An ice cold feeling touched Ria cheeks, neck, arms and legs. A surge of panic overwhelmed her as the icy feeling completely covered her body. The coldness seemed flow down into her skin and through her blood veins. She cringed and wanted to break free from Roxas Jr.'s small hand, but he was holding on to her too firmly.

After a few seconds, it was over. The ice retreated from her veins and body and Roxas Jr.'s touch filled her with new warmth. As opened her eyes, Junior's eyes were locked onto her. He was worried again.

"I'm Ok, really." She reassured him.

They were in the hall were Ria had met Xemnas previously. Her friends were nowhere to be seen but they soon spotted Xemnas staring darkly at Roxas Jr.

Roxas Jr. returned Xemnas' glare right back at him. Ria's grip around Roxas Jr. hand tightened.

Suddenly, Xemnas' face grew into an evil grin. He swiftly gestured at the wall, creating a black oval abyss. Then he waved, pulling something out of the abyss that made Ria gasp in horror as he did so.

"No way!" She shrieked.

Ria's pov

"I knew you would betray me, puppet!" Xemnas spat at my little friend. Oddly, he wasn't unnerved or greatly angered, just annoyed. "You let you facsimile sense of right and wrong get into the way of things. But because I always have two plans, I prepared something a little different from the original one." He grinned nefariously.

From the abyss, a number of complete black figures dropped to the ground like stones. Their human shape resembled my friends, and it only took a moment to realise that they _were_ my friends. Xemnas had turned them into some kind of lifeless creatures. The different forms they had were really the only thing that gave away their identities.

"What did you do to them!?" I spat, still utterly horrified. Roxas Jr. squeezed my hand. He was afraid of Xemnas' grin which became increasingly wide.

"What are you saying? Your negative feelings triggered their doom." He paused so he could amuse himself with my frustrated and horrified expression. "See, the realm were I sent you to, absorbed these feelings and they were the key to open the very special door."

Everything came crashing down on me. The Door was opened without me even knowing it. I stared at Xemnas, extremely shocked. I tried hard not to believe him but deep inside, I knew it was true.

"Yes Ria, you opened it for me! The Door to Everlasting Darkness!" He roared triumphantly and lifted his arms. From under Xemnas, a black stream of some sort of liquid flowed out of a black gap. It soon transformed into a relentless river, engulfing our white surroundings with its noxious darkness. It choked all the light of this world.

I felt the grip around my hand loosen; it was followed by a quite _thud_. My vision snapped to the ground. The little blond boy had collapsed. His breathing was irregular and his eyes were tightly shut. His face was ragged with pain. I stared helplessly at the young boy. Knowing that I had no idea how to safe him, created a massive deal of panic in me.

The black river began devouring him slowly. He was beginning to look like Roxas and the rest, like a lifeless black shell. I glanced at Xemnas, he was enjoying himself.

What kind of sick person does that, you ask? A sadistic one.

Before Junior's arms and face were devoured, his hand gripped mine hastily and his blue eyes opened slowly.

"Ria, you have to stop Xemnas. He is using your negative emotions that linger in your heart to absorb the light of all the worlds and people of Light! You have to get rid of the hatred you feel for him! Before it devours you too!" He whispered desperately. Then his grip loosened again and his eyes closed.

The black stream engulfed him completely and then he was like everyone else, another lifeless black shell.

Xemnas' depraved laugh echoed around me as I shook the shell, whining. It summoned uncontrollable hatred, fury and revulsion in me.

I roared, releasing all those feelings through it and charged at the silver-haired monster. It was a mistake though. As soon as I took a couple of steps, nausea overwhelmed me. I shuttered and my legs buckled under me. The sick feeling worked its way up to my head. Numbness followed after it.

I lost all strength in my limbs. They lay loosely on the black liquid. I didn't sink but just like it did with Roxas Jr.; it began swallowing me slowly, beginning at my legs. The crawling movement was silent.

"No!" I cried desperately. Xemnas laughed again.

"Yes, Ria. You'll soon join your pathetic friends." My uncontrollable feelings caused me to roar again. It sped up the black river drastically; it was halfway over my stomach in less than two seconds.

"Feel your heart being consumed by darkness, feel your senses becoming numb. Feel the lifeless shell you will become!" His voice was euphoric.

"Cease the hatred you feel towards Xemnas!" Junior's words echoed through my head.

'_But how can I when he is creating sentences that I can't stand?!"_

"Please Xemnas, stop!" I begged faintly. I locked my eyes onto his and put on the most pleading look on that I could. "I can help you become whole again! All you have to do it stop this madness!"

The stream ceased flowing further up my body for a moment. Positive emotions caused it to retreat slowly.

Xemnas smirked. His amber-orange eyes locked onto mine.

"No one can help me. And if I can't have a heart, NO ONE SHALL HAVE ONE!"

His arms shoot upwards and the river flowed up his body, following his arms. Soon he was covered entirely in the liquid.

A sleek silver mist soon wrapped itself around Xemnas too. It transformed him into something big and bulky

Soon there stood a massive basalt-colour, armoured, human-shaped beast in front of my tiny body. It seemed to be staring at me.

Our surroundings changed too. The river retreated back into the hole it came from but it left behind a navy and purple galaxy. I recognized all the worlds me and the boys visited and some new worlds that I hadn't seen before floating around a huge, glowing, heart shaped moon. Something was wrong with them. I could only make out which worlds they were by their shapes as they too were completely covered in blackness. Just like my friends, they had become lifeless shells. Beneath me, an invisible force formed a hard floor. Each footstep echoed around us ten times.

Xemnas' words were true. The opening of the door causes great evil to take over.

Then I suddenly realised that the Door to Darkness wasn't an actual door, it was . . . me! I was the Darkness, the source. I was the weapon. Xemnas used my hatred-filled heart to absorb all the light from the people of Light and the worlds themselves.

Zexion's words came back to me.

"_H__e found out that you're The Key to a door he says is special, the door to everlasting darkness. Beyond that door is something so evil, it will destroy all the worlds and cause great losses to ever living being. The person, who finds it, controls it. The door lies somewhere deep within the castle and only with your help can Xemnas open it."_

'_But how's that possible? If Xemnas said that the door lies deep within the castle . . ._'

I suddenly realised that I _was_ deep within the castle. Of course I still wondered how me being the Door was possible but I had no time for asking questions. I had to find a way to get rid of the solid hatred that came from deep within my heart. The maniac monster that Zexion had mentioned was _my_ dark heart. My heart might not be scary, but it was impossible to rid it of hatred. It didn't literally destroy the worlds, it just destroyed the light.

I grasped my keyblade tightly and took a few deep breathes. My numbed senses were returning slowly as the liquid that had been covering some of my body had vanished.

The mount of amour towering in front me waited silently for my next move. He seemed unconcerned.

"OK Xemnas, I tried it the peaceful way but obviously, you don't want to co-operate. You just sealed your doom!" It was sort of funny that I was trying to talk like him. I could clearly see the effects it had on me if I was in Xemnas' presence for too long.

The mount didn't move. I took my chances and sprang at him hastily. Ha, it would be funny if it were that easy to attack. But it wasn't.

I slammed against an invisible wall a couple of centimetres before the blade of my key could slice Xemnas' armoured stomach. Some sort of ward that Xemnas had placed around him held me away from his physical being.

The collision with the invisible force had left a crack in my nose. Warm, rich, red blood streamed slowly down my face. It stained my clothes. Some of it escaped into my mouth. It tasted salty.

"You fool! There is a reason why people feared the opening of the Door, and that is because the one who opens it, feeds the one whom receives, with ultimate dark power! It comes from your heart and no matter how small that piece of hate or anger is deep within your heart, it will always be enough to feed me with this ultimate power!" Xemnas roared with evil delight.

I felt truly powerless. No matter how terrified I was in all my battles with other people before, nothing compared with this kind of fear. I felt like a rabbit confronting a wolf.

Then another thought hit me.

"But what if I try to focus my thoughts on my three best friends Roxas, Axel and Roxas Jr.?" I mentioned Junior because he helped me out twice and I owed him at least that much. "What if that triggers affectionate feelings for them? I'll forget about the hate, and fill myself with positive feelings!" A spark of hope and a lot of happy memories set my heart on fire with these so-called positive feelings. The happy fire pulsed through my veins and gave me new strength.

It had a visible effect on the armoured beast.

"No!" I heard Xemnas cry. The sleek silver mist wrapped itself around him again. Whatever it was, it disappeared right at the moment it reached the top of Xemnas' helmet. To my surprise, it made him even _bigger_ than before. A large, bulky sword was added to his hands. It resembled Zelix's blade an awful lot. I was totally dumbfounded for a moment.

Xemnas laughed again. This time hysterically. He had become completely insane. I took my chances again and charged. I nearly tripped a couple of times but Xemnas didn't realise that I was trying to attack him. He just continued laughing in his own hysterical way.

When my keyblade was within reaching distance, I sprang up, over Xemnas' helmet and with all my might, slammed my keyblade down into his head, trying to break the helmet in two which was covered in blood droplets from my nose. I was glad the the ward had vanished.

As my feet touched the invisible ground again, and my hair fell back on my shoulders, a loud cracking sound ripped through the air. Xemnas' whole armour split in two. The pieces began to smoke and then disintegrated, this time forming black mist which began to cover the figure that had been carefully wrapped in the armour. The figure wasn't Xemnas but I couldn't see clearly enough to recognize who it was.

The mist seemed to shrink the figure down to an adult male's size. I gasped as the mist retreated slowly.

My keyblade slipped out of my hand as I stared blankly at the person who had taken Xemnas' position.

In front of me, grinning just as evil as Xemnas, stood Zelix.

(_A/N: I was so very, VERY tempted to end this chapter right here, just to add to the suspense. But, BUT don't worry. I asked myself, 'should I really be so mean?' and I answered, 'I don't think so!' I don't want to end up like Xemnas. Y'know, a lot people hate him. Anyway, moving along 'cause I don't want to keep you all waiting)_

**I'm tired of being what you want me to be  
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface**

I was once again, dumbfounded. Scratching the back of my head, I gestured at Zelix. I noted that his eyes were lightly closed.

"How did you . . .? I stared at him, totally confused.

**I don't know what you're expecting of me  
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes  
**

"Like it? So this is how it feels to posses ultimate power." The voice didn't belong to Zelix. It was the deep rich voice of Xemnas. He was obviously trying to trick me into thinking he was Zelix. A thing only a complete idiot would do.

**(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)**

I chuckled quietly. All that greed for power must have processed his non-existing brain into pudding. How stupid did he think I was that I wouldn't recognize his voice easily?

**Every step that I take is another mistake to you**

"Xemnas, you have to do way better than that? Taking the shape of Zelix is soooo lame! It won't stop me from attacking you, y'know?" I stated smugly. It felt great to outsmart an evil genius.

**(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)**

"Once again you proved what a fool you are! Do you really think I would consume time by trying to gain the shape of another? No, it is a lot less complicated to just posses a victim. The darkness of your friend's heart is enough to enable me to get into him!"

**I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
Become so tired so much more aware**

"What?" I slapped my forehead. So much for my Xemnas-brain-pudding theory. I didn't know why I didn't think about the whole possessing-a-body thing before. I made myself look pretty stupid.

_' . . .Wait, Zelix doesn't have a heart. What is Xemnas on about?'_

**I'm becoming this all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you  
**

A loud groan interrupted my thoughts. My attention turned to Zelix. Both his hands were clawed to his head. It was like he was trying to pierce the skin on his head.

Then his eyes opened widely. The blue colour of his eyes kept switching to amber orange and then back to blue again. He took a few steps forward and then tripped. His arms reached out towards me, trying to grasp me. His clenched teeth were bared. He was bracing himself for something. Or was he fighting Xemnas' control?

**Can't you see that you're smothering me?  
Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control  
**

"Ria, you have to run! Before Xemnas gains complete control of my body! I won't . . . be able to stop myself from hurting you!" Zelix's voice kept breaking into Xemnas' and then into his own again.

**Cause everything that you thought I would be  
Has fallen apart right in front of you  
**

"No! I won't let that happen! No one can do that to my friends!" I yelled. The positive fire in my heart was replaced with the collection of negative feelings. I hear a quite 'yes' coming from Zelix's half-possessed body. It was Xemnas' voice again.

"Ria, PLEASE!" That was Zelix's voice again. The switching of voices was frustrating. "Before the darkness completely consumes your heart and before I lose all control over my body!" His broke into Xemnas' once again. It was weird to hear Xemnas pleading.

**Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
**

As I thought about my heart, the solution dawned on me. It was a big choice to make but it was necessary.

"If this is all because of my heart, then I have to get rid of mine." I stated calmly. I had made my choice.

**And every second I waste is more than I can take**

Zelix's expression betrayed the confusion of both people. I held my keyblade in a way that its tip was pointing upwards. Then I held it in such a position that the tip pointed right to the place where my heart was beating rapidly.

**I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
Become so tired so much more aware  
**

Then Zelix exploded. Both of them had finally coped on to what I was going to do.

**I'm becoming this all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Zelix roared desperately. This time the voice was a mixture of Xemnas' and Zelix's. Xemnas was desperate not to lose the power that was coming from my dark heart and Zelix was desperate not to lose me. I felt selfish but shook it off immediately.

**And I know I may end up failing too  
But I know you were just like me  
With someone disappointed in you**

"Sometimes, great sacrifices have to be made in order to win the near endless battle against eternal darkness. Better my heart, than the hearts of everyone else." I said clearly and calmly even though my heart raced. It was as if it knew that it will soon be stabbed.

**I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
Become so tired so much more aware  
**

"I'm sorry . . . but it's the only way to end this and save your life, Roxas' life and everyone else." I muttered.

**I'm becoming this all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you**

"Ria, NO!"

Zelix got up off the ground and charged at me with his eyes dark blue eyes full of panic. I panicked myself so I took a one last deep breath and stabbed my keyblade swiftly into my body before I got a chance to think about it.

**I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be**

I was numbed in an instant. I was faintly surprised that there was no pain. My vision began to fade. Blackness crawled from the edges of it to the centre slowly. My heart was gone.

**I've become so numb I can't feel you there  
I'm tired of being what you want me to be**

As I dropped to my knees, my keyblade fell out of my hand. Zelix had stopped running and stared helplessly at my near-lifeless body. Tears had welled in the corners of his eyes. I gave my last, sad smile to him before my head hit the invisible ground and my vision completely faded.

It was over.

* * *

**Me: I know, I'm doing it again but I have to stop here. I'm really not trying to be mean. Don't worry; this is not the last chapter. It's not over for Ria yet. There WILL be a happy ending to this story. Please tell me what you think and please point out mistakes to me if I made them. And before I go for now, I want to apologize again. Sorry **

**Oh yeah, I think the song 'Numb' really fit's Zelix in the position he is in right now, Y'know, trying to become himself again and free himself out of Xemnas' claws. **


	23. Happy ending at last

**Me: Finally, t****he last chapter of this story. I apologise for the long delay. I was preoccupied with studying. But, at last, I'm done and the Summer Holidays are here.**

* * *

Chapter 23: Happy ending at last

Zelix's pov

I watched, helpless, as the blond girl collapsed in front of me, her keyblade slipping out of her hand. The sad smile had vanished from her pretty face, encrusted with dark, dry streaks of blood from the bottom of her nose to her chin. Her clothes were also stained with blood droplets. A token from the previous battle.

I couldn't believe what she had done. Water had gathered at the edge of my eyes and my body trembled.

There was absolute silence around me. It mocked me. I was still on the invisible platform floating in space between the black shells of the deceased worlds. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run and Xemnas' being was still present. There was no escape for him either.

A heart-shaped moon hung high above me. It glowed brightly. 'Kingdom Hearts' was what everyone called it, the moon that stored the hearts of every living being that had lost theirs. It made me wonder if my lost heart was trapped in it. It caused me to remember Xemnas' words.

"_The darkness of your friend's heart is enough to enable me to get into him!"_

I was frustrated. I had no heart and yet Xemnas mentioned it. Maybe he used my memories that I had of my heart. I didn't know, and if our paths crossed again, I had to make sure to ask him.

Speaking about Xemnas, he raged inside me and I was trying to free myself from him. It felt like someone was trying to drown me. I was struggling to stay in control. Lucky for me he was weaker than before and his presence became fainter with every passing moment.

I took a few painful steps towards Ria, rubbing the tears that had positioned themselves in my eyes away. The closer I go to her, the fainter Xemnas' presence was. He soon only felt like a three year old child, trying to push me away.

My steps became easier as I closed the space between Ria and me. Only a step away, Xemnas' presence completely vanished. He was gone. Now there was one thing less to worry about.

But Ria was another worry that took the place of Xemnas.

Crouching down, I stared at the lifeless body for a moment. My eyes prickled as I touched her cheek gently. Her skin was still warm. I sighed and then, slowly lifted her up. She wasn't as heavy as I had estimated. Her closed eyes were constant reminders of this dark situation.

A tear fell down my face. And then another.

Many people say that tough men don't cry. Well, they don't, but tougher men do . . . I suppose I couldn't really call myself a man, I was barely eighteen years old.

Ria's hair hung down from her head in perfect straight lines. Her smooth pale face showed no signs of stress, just restful peace. It awoke a desire in me to give up and cry my 'heart' out.

It was strange how I could feel these emotions considering I didn't have a heart. Xemnas would have said they were just memories of the real thing, but I wouldn't have been convinced.

After a moment of thought, I embraced Ria tightly, not letting go. I had spent the whole of my Nobody existence trying to protect her from the Organisation. It was like a lifelong quest for me until the Organisation was completely and utterly destroyed. And I had failed.

With so many thoughts rushing through my head, I was completely oblivious to the fact that the heart-shaped moon began to glow brighter and brighter. The light soon engulfed everything in its path, me included. It stung my eyes. I closed them to shield them.

The light had another effect on me. It made my head spin and a slow sick feeling diseased my mind and body. It became too much. I trembled and my vision began to blur and flicker even though my eyes where closed. It was not long until I lost consciousness. The last thing I felt was my head colliding with the ground.

**A few minutes later . . .**

Ria's pov

A loud _thump _and a surge of sharp pain freezing my veins brought me back to reality. I was alive. My plan had worked. Of course I was too dazed to notice at first.

As I opened my eyes wearily, I slowly became aware of the sensations around me. There was a cold floor beneath my head and I was curled up against something warm. My legs were pulled up to my stomach and my hands were pressed against my head. I felt a dull ache coming from my heart. Even though it hurt, it was a welcoming feeling. I hadn't lost my heart. The thought of it dresses my face in a relieved smile.

But that relieve didn't exactly last very long. As I tried to uncurl, my body began protesting heavily. I was so stiff that ever movement hurt horribly and my bones made cracking sounds.

'_Now I know how old people feel' _I thought grimly. When I managed to uncurl-a very painful experience-I became aware of a strong hand clutching my left arm. Not too worried, I tried to break the grip but it was too strong. '_Weakling_'

I felt the blood encrusted on my face, and I groaned as I spotted the blood stains on my clothes. _'What a mess. I wish I had a tissue.'_

Then I turned my head wearily. Zelix lay on the ground beside me. It was his hand that clutched my arm. His tightly shut eyes and pained expression concerned me a little. I wasn't sure if Xemnas still possessed him. After a brief thought about it, I shook my head. Xemnas couldn't be here anymore. Not after what I did.

"Oh!" I gasped as I remembered what I wanted to check. Reluctantly, I stretched out my free arm towards Zelix's chest. The warmth radiating of his skin made me feel even more reluctant. As my cold hand met Zelix's warm skin beneath his cloak, a clear shiver ran down his back. A different sensation I felt made up for the uncomfortable feeling that had overwhelmed me.

I felt a slow, gentle heart beat under his chest. A wide foolish grin spread across my entire face. Something inside me roared euphorically. I couldn't wait to see Zelix's reaction to this new heart of his.

As I pulled my hand away from him, the grip around my arm became tighter. I winced, muttered a curse and clawed his hand, trying to get it off my arm. It became so painful that water welled up in my eyes. In the end I powerfully slapped Zelix across the face. That worked. His grip loosened immediately and he shifted his position. _'Is he asleep or something?'_

I gently freed my arm and placed his hand on his other arm. When that was done, I pulled myself to my feet. My legs ached and my back was still completely stiff. I analysed the surroundings. We were in the white hall again. Roxas and the guys were nowhere to be seen.

My heart sunk and I dropped to my knees again.

'_Maybe . . . Maybe I was too late. Maybe I wasn't fast enough to save them. Maybe I just saved Zelix in the nick of time before Xemnas forced him to join them.'_

So there I sat, on the ground, close to tears. I pulled me knees to my body and wrapped my arms around them. I began rocking back and forwards. What came next caught me off guard.

"R-Ria . . . Ria, you are alive!"

Before I had a chance to react, I was bear-hugged. It squeezed all the air out of my body with a _Whoosh_.

"Can't . . . breathe . . ." I exclaimed, obviously out of breath. The anonymous person freed me instantly. I looked up while rubbing my arm. Zelix sat beside me, grinning from ear to ear. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement and joy. _Real _excitement and joy.

"It is just unbelievable! You are alive! I watched you stab your heart and collapse. I thought you were death!" Zelix exclaimed while embracing me again. He was behaving like a child, not that it bothered me. It cheered me up, in fact.

"Zelix, I would never have used my keyblade on my heart if I had no way to save myself. I'm not an idiot." I said. The sentence wasn't entirely true, but what Zelix didn't know couldn't hurt him. "And you can let go of me now."

"Oh, my apologies. . ." Zelix retreated a bit. He then stood up and helped me up. I patted the dust of my clothes.

"So, how does it feel? Your heart, I mean." I stated, puzzled that he didn't mention it yet. He froze as I spoke the words. His vision turned to his chest and his right hand slid up to the left side of his chest. I observed that what he felt put tears in his eyes.

"I have . . . a heart?"

I nodded twice and grinned uncontrollably. He threw me a puzzled look.

"That's why I did the whole get-rid-of-my-heart thing. You know that the Organisation collected hearts, right?" Zelix nodded "Then you must also know that those hearts weave together to form Kingdom Hearts, the big heart-shaped moon, right?" He nodded again

"Well I figured that maybe, if I completed it with my heart, I would somehow save the worlds, and all Nobodies and Heartless by restoring their hearts." Zelix opened his mouth to ask something but I interrupted him.

"Don't ask me how I thought it was supposed to work because I honestly didn't know at the time. And I still don't. I was too busy fighting and trying to find a way to trying to rid myself of my heart. I was desperate so I just tried the first idea that came to my head: Stabbing myself with a keyblade. Sure, it was like a self-sacrifice, but at least I would have saved hundreds of lives from darkness" I paused for a moment to let the memories flow back to me. Zelix sat still. "I figured that it should work because Xemnas said that my hatred fed his power. A heart without its owner can't contain hatred. It's empty, like a shell. Of course, there was a risk that I would not regain my heart, but there was too much at stake to not try." I finished explaining and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. Zelix understood.

"You did that . . . for us, even though there was a risk that you would lose your life?" He queried. His voice was unsteadily emotional, if there was even such thing, and his eyes sparkled with admiration.

"Yeah, I was always the giving type." I stated smugly. Zelix chuckled and then analysed the hall.

"I see we're still here in the castle." Zelix said. I nodded and summoned my keyblade, wanting to make sure it was still in one piece. I was relieved to see that it had gained no scratches, but it caused me to worry. If there weren't any heartless, I shouldn't be able to summon my keyblade.

Anxiously, I turned to Zelix and showed him my keyblade. His forehead creased.

"I think, Ria, darkness is never completely destroyed. You said it yourself, the 'endless' battle against darkness." Zelix commented, free from worry. I sighed, wishing I could share his worry-free attitude. With a flash of white light, my keyblade vanished.

"I guess we have to start looking for those friends of mine. They'll be worried." I stated in a bitter tone

'_If they're alive that is__.' _I thought doubtfully and pointed at a big, alabaster double door across the hall.

"Let's look over there."

Zelix shrugged and together we silently left the hall into a long corridor. Both lost in thought, we proceeded, also silently. I hoped desperately that Roxas, the guys and Roxas Jr. were Ok. I would hate myself if they were dead.

This was a good opportunity to ask Zelix about Xemnas. But first, I needed a tissue to clean my face. It was beginning to itch.

"Hey Zelix, you wouldn't have a tissue by any chance?" Zelix blinked twice and then stuffed his hand into a pocket in the inside of his black cloak. Surprisingly, he pulled out a white piece of tissue and handed it to me. I took it gratefully, and began to rub the dried blood crust of my face.

"So, how did Xemnas possess you? And why did he mention a heart? You didn't have one back then." I asked when the task of cleaning my face was completed. This questions bothered me ever since the battle.

Zelix stiffened and I recognized something concealed in his face. It took a moment for him to answer, but lastly he said

"When Xemnas banished you into the realm of nothingness, I stumbled across your group of friends. They were frozen solid. Xemnas had done it. I confronted him because I wanted revenge for what that gambler, Luxord, had done to me. As you might guess, I lost the fight because I was reckless with rage." He paused and fumbled with the pommel of his sword, feeling uncomfortable. I scratched the back of my head and urged him to continue.

"I don't know what happened then. He charged at me and then there was nothing. I could not feel my body or mind and I did not know what was happening. I lastly realised what was occurring when we," He pointed at me and then at himself, "fought."

"Well, you couldn't really call it fighting. You didn't touch me." I stated, reliving the memory.

"Maybe not . . . but if I hadn't fought so hard against Xemnas' control over me, then I would have hurt you." His hand curved into a fist. He turned to the wall and hit it with all his might. I was surprised that no dent was left behind. Zelix then closed his eyes and sighed. I placed my hand gently on his arm. For a moment, I didn't know what to say, but it irritated me that he was pulling himself down with things that never happened.

"Well, you didn't, OK? It's over and done. Xemnas is gone and we're in one piece! Quit wrecking your head with events that didn't happen at all!" I commanded firmly and took my hand of his arm.

He turned to me. His face was mildly amused.

"Those are strong words for someone so young." He joked and then chuckled merrily.

I frowned because I wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Stop being so annoying, will you?" I spat, sounding more irritated than I was. He placed his hand on his hip and shook his head with a mocking grin

"Oh dear, it sounds like someone is having one of those teenager mood swing moments." He said with played concern. My expression softened and I punched his arm playfully. We both laughed till my chest hurt. Zelix's words were true.

He became serious again. By then I had completely forgotten that he didn't answer my second question. When it crossed my mind, I wasn't bothered to repeat it.

"C'mon, let's go find your friends." Zelix emphasized "They must be worried about you."

I nodded, surprised by his eagerness to find Roxas and the rest.

Together we travelled deeper within the castle. The unchanging scenery of endless white was 'aggravating', as Zelix described it. The longer I listened to him, the more I realised that he was beginning to talk in a different fashion. His classy vocabulary began to test my patience. I didn't understand half of the big words he was using. The weird thing was that he only began using this classy, new vocabulary now and not when we first met.

Was this his true identity? Was he a son of nobility who played the hero by confronting a Nobody and then became one himself by accident? I honestly didn't know, and I wouldn't ask him now. It was not the right time.

After a while we came to a dead end. It was a circular room with the same alabaster walls as the rest of the castle. The ceiling was relatively high. Broad pillars lined the wall and stabbed the ceiling. In the centre of the room stood a colossal silver double door with golden swirls engraved into the frame that, at the top, melded together into a spike.

For a moment, Zelix and I stood in silence, gazing at the magnificent door with a sense of serenity.

"I wonder where it leads to." I thought, out loud. Zelix shrugged, but then placed his right thumb on his cheek and a finger on his jaw line with a thoughtful expression.

"Possibly to a significant realm that Xemnas cherished. Why else would it be so eminently decorated?"

I threw him an irritated glance. He was using that vocabulary again.

"I have to disagree with you. Nobodies like Xemnas couldn't 'cherish' anything and I don't know what you mean by 'eminently decorated'; it's just a silver door with golden swirls." I contradicted him.

"You do not understand the meaning of my sentence. By 'cherish' I mean value its importance." Zelix explained, leaving me more confused than at the start of the conversation. He chuckled wryly. I didn't find it amusing in any way. My brain wasn't build for his fancy language!

"Next time, could you explain yourself clearly? Your language is just confusing! " I complained furiously and stomped my foot. Zelix chuckled again and patted my shoulder. Then we gazed at the silver door in silence. My fingers twitched towards the door knob. I was very tempted to see what was beyond it.

"Ria!" I jumped at the intensity of the over-excited yell of joy. Spiralling around, I saw little Roxas Jr. running up to me, his face lit up in a childish grin. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted from my body. _'They're all right.'_

Junior embraced me tightly, laughing like the excited young child he now was. Zelix joined in. His deep laugh surprised me. I had never before heard him laugh like that.

As usual, I had no time to question it. From the corridor, Roxas, Axel and Zexion raced up to me. Their faces were decorated with wide grins. I had never seen something like it on their faces before.

With an incredible force, the three bashed into me and locked their arms around mine. We all collapsed laughing full of humour, excitement and incredible joy. We were all like five year old children.

"What are you doing, fellas?" That voice was unmistakably coming from King Mickey. We got up and gazed at him. Roxas was the first to answer. His cheeks were flushed and he scratched the back of his head, pleasantly embarrassed.

"We were just, y'know, messin' around." Axel and Zexion both nodded, continuing to grin like idiots. A realisation occurred to me; I never thought I would see Zexion grin. From behind, Zelix chuckled wryly _again_. I could sense that he was enjoying the ability to feel the amusement.

King Mickey smiled and shook his head, content. He felt happy for the former Nobodies.

"C'mon, let's go home." Roxas turned to me, His azure eyes glinted with joy and happiness. A relieved smile touched my face which widened his grin. Then he turned to the others and cheekily challenged "I'll race you both to the Gummi Ship, grannies!" With a few sharp remarks, the three boys ran off, Roxas Jr. trailing behind. I was just about to follow them when I realised something that made my heart drop.

My work here was done. I had to return to my real home. I had to return, even though my mind was begging me not to.

The thought made my eyes sting till salty water gathered around the edges. I turned my attention to the King and Zelix and suddenly knew where the door led to. A single tear slid down my face. Their expressions faltered.

"I know where this door leads to . . ." I uttered melancholically and rubbed the water out of my eyes. Zelix sighed and touched my face gently as he noted what I meant. The king's face was cheerless.

"Cheer up Ria. I thought you were keen on returning to your friends and family." Zelix stated. His gentle, steady voice couldn't hide his emotions. He wasn't happy about me going back home; I could see it in his eyes.

"I . . . Oh, I don't know!" I wailed and rubbed my eyes once more. I took a moment to steady myself "I miss my family very much. Sometimes it's that bad that I can't sleep. But I don't want to leave this place either. Half of my heart wants to stay here and the other half wants to return home."

Rushed footsteps neared themselves to me. It was Roxas who breathed heavily.

"Ria, c'mon!" He urged with a pleasant smile. When I didn't react his smile vanished almost immediately and he glared at Zelix.

"What did you do to her?" He spat furiously while raising his fist. Zelix glanced at me for help. He was both surprised and shocked that Roxas would still accuse him. I tipped my head once.

"Roxas, he didn't do anything. It's that door." Roxas examined the door closely. Then he shrugged and gave me a questioning look. I turned brittle at it.

"That's the door to my world." I answered in a monotone voice trying to keep my emotions under control. Roxas grew disappointed at my statement. He knew as well as I did what this meant. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he kicked the dust, gazing at the ground with narrowed eyes.

"So, are you going home now?" He asked, in a quiet, displeased tone, keeping his eyes locked onto the ground.

I lowered my head, also staring at the ground and made a low _uh huh _sound. The journey was over and there was nothing left for me to finish. Roxas had prepared himself for my answer, but as he received it, he recoiled as if someone had punched him.

"But . . . you can't go now! Remember, Kairi is expecting to see you again. You can't just ignore her and leave!" Roxas demanded with a hint of desperation. He was searching for any excuse that would force me to stay.

Slowly, I lifted my head. I remembered Kairi and smiled, pleased. This was a good enough excuse.

"You're right." Roxas' face lit up immediately.

But there was one worry. I turned to the small mouse King with an anxious expression.

"Could this door disappear anytime soon?" I questioned and pointed at it.

A thoughtful silence hung in the air. The King's reply was long in coming, but lastly he answered.

"I don't think so. This door was standing here since Xemnas found it a while ago, and hasn't disappeared since. What do you think, Zelix?"

Everyone turned their attention to him. Zelix scratched his forehead deliberately and then crossed his arms with an answer ready.

"I suppose you speak with sense. This door hasn't changed its position at any time. I believe that it will vanish once a Keyblade wielder seals it. But until Ria departs, I see no reason for anyone to seal it. Therefore, there is no possible way it could vanish." His tone of voice hinted signs of smugness.

Talk about proving you point. Even though I was irritated even more because of the vocabulary, Zelix's answer made me grin inside with happiness. _'I can stay!'_

"I guess it couldn't hurt if I stayed a little longer." I admitted casually. Roxas expressed his happiness by laughing loudly and embracing me tightly, so tightly that I began to have breathing problems . . . again. Why was it always necessary to smother me in an embrace?

"Roxas . . . can't . . . breath" I choked and felt a little disturbed. I could hear Zelix and the King chuckle. Again! Was this 'Keep-a-continuous-flow-of-happiness-and-amusement-going' day?

The grip around me loosened and Roxas grinned bashfully. I rolled my eyes and turned to Zelix.

"What are you going to do now? I mean, you've got nothing to hunt now." His expression was neutral. He fingered the pommel of his sword, not sure how to answer.

"I suppose I should return to my family. The worry and anguish that fills them must be a heavy burden to bear, and it increases drastically every day."

"Oh." It was all I could say. I had never taken in account that Zelix had a family, nor had I thought of it. He always came across to me as a lone wolf.

"My Father has an underlined health condition. Worry weakens him. I would not want him to suffer any more on my account." That was something I could understand. This was a whole new side to Zelix, a soft, caring side. Only then did I realise that I had forgotten about his heart. I slapped my face, irritated.

Silence washed through the circular room. At last the King spared a few short words.

"We should get going, fellas. Today is a special day and we should celebrate it."

My face lit up at his words. Celebrations meant food, and to be honest, I haven't had that mouth-watering stuff in a very long time. As I glanced at Roxas, I could sense that he was feeling the same way. He carried the expression of a starving wolf.

"Yeah, let's go. The others are waiting, and everyone knows Axel has a notoriously short fuse." The hall filled with hearty laughter. It caught me off guard because, again, I had expected the emotionless.

Zelix ran his hand through his black hair and bent down to whisper something to the king. The mouse nodded approvingly. It felt unreal to me. A man talking to a mouse? It was something I hadn't felt in a long time. I shrugged it off quickly, but it left me in thought.

"The time has come," I turned to Zelix. My gaze met his. "I bade you farewell, Ria, Roxas. May good fortune smile on you and your friends." He wasn't going to the celebration with us.

Without another word, Zelix advanced to the exit. Before he completely left the room, he turned around on last time.

"Ria," I looked at him. "Thank you. Thank you for delivering me from darkness. Thank you for restoring my life. And thank you for destroying Xemnas' delusional wrath."

I felt warm blood rushing to my face and soon my cheeks burned with bashful fire. He noticed and chuckled.

"I'm in your depth" He stated warmly. I began to protest, but he insisted on paying me back some day. His attitude bugged me. He was quite stubborn.

"On day, my friends, we will meet again. And then, I'll give you something special, Ria." He paused and sighed, closing his eyes. Then, he opened his eyes again and cheerfully added, "Until that day".

Zelix exited the hall with a smile full of gratitude carved into his face. I listened till his footsteps faded into the silence. Without him, a strange loneliness gathered around me.

Roxas scratched his head in confusion.

"What happened to him? Did he smash a rock against his head or something? What's up with the classy vocabulary?" Roxas sounded utterly confused. I looked at him and shook my head, clueless.

"I don't know, Roxas. I don't know."

* * *

We had arranged to travel to the King's castle later on for the upcoming celebration, but now we strutted towards the Gummi ship, ready to return home.

Junior's laugh echoed around us. At least someone was having fun.

"_Now_ he has finally decided to join us!" That was Axel. He was irritated. I could really feel it in his tone of voice. It was strong and _real_. One thing was strange. Why did Axel say 'he'?

Axel was leaning against the shiny red wall of the Gummi ship with his arms crossed and chin tucked into his chest. He stared at the ground with a dark gaze. He made no eye-contact.

Zexion poked his head out of the Gummi ship warily. His grey-blue fringe dangled down the right side of his face, covering one of his wise eyes. His face cracked into a wide, delighted grin as he spotted Roxas and me. This was also full of true emotion. It was still a shock seeing Zexion happy when you have known him to be quite and emotionless.

Junior sat on the ground, eating a bar of chocolate from my bag. I smiled. I had completely forgotten about it.

Axel did not notice. Roxas glanced at him, uncomfortably. He leaned over to me and whispered:

"Talk to him."

I turned to Roxas and looked at him in an irritated fashion. He flashed an uncertain smile and then mouthed 'please?' with hopeful puppy-dog eyes. I frowned. I could never resist those eyes.

"Coward" I muttered as I stomped over to Axel. I straightened my face and stood up with my head held high.

"Hey Axel, what's wrong?" The redhead's head snapped up in alarm. He scrutinized my face with disbelieve for about twenty seconds and then his face too, cracked into a wide, perky grin. And without warning, he pulled me into a choking embrace. That was the third time someone smothered me today.

"I thought you left us without sayin' good-bye!" He laughed heartily. Only now did I realise that he must not have noticed me earlier. This situation felt very awkward and that was the only thing on my mind for a moment.

I was torn from my thoughts because my lungs began screaming for air. My oxygen reserve crumbled with the force of the embrace. I now knew how a mouse felt when choked to death by a snake.

"Axel . . . can't breathe . . . you're choking me!" I whimpered with no tone in my voice.

"Huh?"

The grip around me fell away, and I began gasping for air. Then I slumped to the ground and took relieved breaths.

Axel now turned his attention to Roxas, who smiled at him.

"Sorry I snapped at you, buddy." Axel placed one arm around Roxas, best-buddy style and grinned apologetically. The sight was so amusing that Zexion and I exploded with uncontrollable laughter. Axel and Roxas glanced at each other, and then joined in. And then, we were all laughing together like idiots, looking like idiots. We didn't care. You spend an unbelievable amount of your live time worrying about you appearance, and time is precious. So why squander it by worrying?

As I looked at Roxas Jr., his expression read: I don't know them. This was a reason to laugh even harder.

I ceased laughing when my stomach began aching. I clutched it and groaned. Battle bruises. And too much laughing in one day.

"C'mon guys, let's go home." I suggested when the others broke off their laughing fits.

"Yeah, Hayner, Pence and Olette are waiting." Roxas agreed. Axel, Junior and Zexion too, agreed. Axel wanted to join us in Twilight Town and Zexion was itching to get back to Ansem the Wise. Roxas Jr. wanted to join Zexion in order to find answers to his existence. Of course we had to celebrate first. Celebration = food.

We boarded the Gummi Ship, each with our own little happy thoughts floating around. There were so many things that I still wanted to do, but for now, I needed a nice long sleep and some freakin' delicious grub.

"Hey guys," They all looked at me at once. "Thank you for supporting and sticking with me even though I can be a real pain. You're a great bunch of friends." Now was my time to hug. I hugged them all individually. Axel whistled as I embraced Roxas, taking a bit longer than I should have. I didn't complain.

"Think and say what you want Axel. I don't care."

* * *

It was a strange adventure with new friends and new enemies. Now it was over, and I was already beginning to wonder what other adventures dawned.

* * *

**Me: Wow, I can't believe it. I'm finished. Hahahahah! I did it. I finished off my first ever story on Fanfiction.**** Anyway, I want to thank everyone for reading this story. I'll begin the sequel soon, but first I have to finish of one of my Organisation guides. I've been pushing it out of my way for too long.**

**About the sequel, I don't know when it'll be published. I'll try to get it up in the next few weeks. If you put me on author alert, you won't miss it.**

**Fare well for now, and please please please please review. **

**Luckycookie :D**


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